A Hero's Resolve
by Tsukaria
Summary: A year has passed since the Cell games and Gohan is struggling to cope as his mother has kept him studying constantly. He makes a fateful decision to find a new purpose far away from home
1. Chapter 1: Decision of Fate

A HERO'S RESOLVE

BY TSUKARIA CHAPTER 1 : DESICION OF FATE

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEE A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND A NEGLECTIVE CHI-CHI. AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY... ALSO A SLIGHT AU OF DBZ

A/N: HEY ALL! THIS IS MY FIRST STORY SO PLEASE BE KIND AND I APPRECIATE CONSTRUCIVE CRITISISM SO IF YOU NOTICE ANY MISTAKES PLEASE TELL WITHOUT FURTHER ADO LET THE STORY COMMENCE!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12 MONTHS...

IT HAD BEEN 12 MONTHS SCINCE THAT DAY, THE DAY WHERE HE HAD STOPPED CELL'S DIABOLIC PLOT AND SAVED THE PLANET... BUT HIS VICTORY HAD COME AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH PRICE.

GOHAN SAT AT HIS DESK TAPPING HIS PENCIL AGAINST IT AS HE LOOKED AT THE QUESTIONS HIS MOTHER HAD GIVEN HIM:

'1. IF A=2.35, B=33.567 AND C IS AN UNKNOWN VALUE, FIND C WHEN 67C=22A-5B(65A+B) 2. AFTER C HAS BEEN FOUND, USE THE FORMULA 44CF=77A-3B TO FIND F THEN APPLY YOUR ANSWER TO 33F-8A-45B+C AND FIND THE ANSWER OF SAID SUM.'

NORMALLY, HE WOULD HAVE THESE DONE IN SECONDS BUT EVER SCINCE THAT DAY 12 MONTHS AGO HE HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO CONCENTRATE, WHICH MEANT HIS GRADES SLIPPED WHICH IN TURN CAUSES HIS ALREADY OVRERPOSSESIVE MOM TO GO BALLISTIC AND CLAIM THAT HE'S TURNING INTO A 'KARATE BUM DELINQUENT JUST LIKE HIS FATHER'. GOHAN THEN RETALIATES IN DEFENCE OF HIMSELF AND CHI-CHI RESPONDS BY UNLOADING MORE WORK ON HIM WHILE RECITING 'YOU'D BETTER BUCK UP YOUR IDEAS YOUNG MAN!' AND STORMING OFF.

GOHAN LET OUT A LONG SIGH. HE NEEDED TO GET AWAY FROM THIS PLACE BUT THERE WAS NOWHERE ON THE ENTIRE PLANET THAT DIDN'T REMIND HIM OF HIS DAD.

IT HAD HURT SO MUCH WHEN HIS FATHER HAD DECIDED TO STAY DEAD. GOKU HAD CLAIMED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE HE FELT THE WORLD WOULD BE SAFER WITH HIM GONE, BUT GOHAN KNEW THE REAL REASON.

'HE BLAMES ME' WAS THE CONCLUSION GOHAN HAD DRAWN. 'IT'S MY FAULT HE DIED'

AFTER THAT HE HAD RESOLVED TO TRY AND MAKE AMMENDS AND TAKE HIS FATHERS PLACE AS PROTECTOR OF THE WORLD, BUT HIS MOM HAD PUT A STOP TO THOSE IDEAS WHEN SHE HAD HIM ON A SRICT STUDY REGIME. DAY AFTER DAY, WEEK AFTER WEEK, MONTH AFTER MONTH THE REGIME HAD CONTINUED. HE WOULD WAKE UP AT 5 FOR BREAKFAST AND THEN STUDTY ALL DAY APART FROM LUNCH AND DINNER BREAKS, WHICH DIDN'T LAST ALL THAT LONG WITH HIS SAIYAN APPETITE. HE DIDN'T EVEN GET TO PLAY WITH HIS BABY BROTHER GOTEN. SO FROM THIS HE HAD DRAWN ANOTHER CONCLUSION: HIS MOTHER BLAMED HIM TOO. HE WOULDN'T BE SUPPRISED IF ALL AF HIS DAD'S FRIENDS, EVEN VEGETA, BLAMED HIM AS WELL.

GOHAN SUDDENLY CAME BACK TO REALITY WHEN HE REALISED HE HAD GOTTEN ANGRY IN HIS DEPRESSED MUSINGS AND HAD SNAPPED THE PENCIL HE HAD BEEN TAPPING AGAINST THE TABLE.

'NO ONE HERE NEEDS ME,' HE THOUGHT 'IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR EVERYONE IF I WERE TO JUST, I DUNNO, DISSAPEAR AND FIND SOMEWHERE THAT DOES... BUT IT'S NOT AS IF I CAN JUST GO AND WISH I WAS SOMHERE THAT NEEDS ME...'

THEN A THOUGHT CAME TO HIM, 'IT'S EXACTLY 12 MONTHS SCINCE THE CELL GAMES SO THAT MEANS... OF COURSE! HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND?!' HE MOVED TO THE WINDOW IN A PRACTICED, SILENT MOTION 'IT'LL BE RISKY BUT...' HE OPENED THE WINDOW 'IT'S ONE I'M WILLING TO TAKE!' HE THEN CLAMBERED OT OF THE WINDOW AND FLEW TOWARDS VEGETA'S FLARING KI SIGNAL, AS SILENTLY AS POSSIBLE AND PUSHING HIS KI AS LOW AS HE COULD WHILE STILL KEEPING UP A DECENT SPEED.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GOHAN LAUGHED AS HE FELT THE MIND BLOW PAST HIM. HE HAD NOT HAD THE CHANCE TO DO THIS IN A YEAR SO HE WAS ENJOYING THE NOT-  
SO-FAMILIAR-ANYMORE FEELING AS HE SOARED THROGH THE CLOUDS, LEAVING HOLES IN THEM AS HE PASSED THROUGH. HOWEVER, HIS FUN WAS SHORTLIVED AS HE FELT THE FAMILIAR KI OF HIS OLD SENSEI CLOSING IN ON HIS POSITION.

IN LESS THAN A MINUTE HE WAS FORCED TO A HALT AS HIS SENSEI SUDDENLY APPEARED IN HIS PATH.

"GOHAN" THE GREEN MAN STATED

"PICCOLO" GOHAN REPLIED

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?" PICCOLO ASKED IN HIS USUAL GRUFF TONE "SHOULDN'T YOU BE STUDYING UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF YOUR HARPY OF A MOTHER?"

'WELL,' GOHAN THOUGHT 'THAT'S PICCOLO FOR YOU, ALWAYS STRAIGHT TO THE POINT'

"I'VE DECIDED NO ONE NEEDS ME ANYMORE SO I'M GOING TO FIND SOMEWHERE THAT WILL GIVE ME A NEW PURPOSE" GOHAN RESPONDED STATING THE TRUTH

"AND THAT SOMEWHERE HAPPENS TO BE CAPSULE CORP?" PICCOLO INQUIRED, INDICATING GOHAN'S PAST TRAJECTORY TOWARD SAID LOCATION

"NO," GOHAN HISSED THROUGH GRITTED TEETH "THEE'S AN ITEM THERE I NEED SO THAT I CAN FIND THE PLACE THAT NEEDS ME SO PLE-"

"THE DRAGON RADAR RIGHT?" THE NAMEKIAN INTERJECTED

"H-HOW-" GOHAN STUTTERED

"IT'S BLATANTLY OBVIOUS" THE MAN WITH THE ANTENNAE INTERRUPTED "IT'S BEEN EXACTLY ONE YEAR SCINCE THE CELL GAMES, THE LAST TIME THE DRAGON BALLS WERE USED, AND THE FACT THAT THE DRAGON RADAR IS THE ONLY ITEM THAT WOULD INTEREST ANYONE FROM OUR GROUP THERE"

"IF YOUR GOING TO TRY AND STOP ME PICCOLO THEN YOU'D BEST BE PREPARED TO FIGHT 'CAUSE I 'AINT GOING BACK THERE WILLINGLY!"  
GOHAN YELLED, WHILE GETTING INTO HIS FIGTING STANCE, LEFT FOOT FORWARD WITH HIS LEFT ARM EXTENDED TO FULL REACH AND HAND IN A CLAW LIKE SHAPE AS IF HE WAS GRIPPING A BALL WHILE HIHT LEG FELL BACK AND BENT AT THE KNEE WHILE HIS RIGHT ARM PULLED BACK AND BENT SO THAT HIS RIGHT HAND MIRRORED HIS LEFT BY HIS RIGHT CHEEK.(A/N THIS IS JUST SO YOU KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE SO I DON'T NEED TO REPEAT MYSELF IN THE FUTURE)

"RELAX KID" THE GREEN ONE SAID "I'M NOT HERE TO FIGHT YOU. IF ANYTHING I WANT TO HELP SEEING AS YOU FINALY BUILT UP ENOUGH COURAGE TO DEFY THE HARPY LIKE THAT"

"HUH?" GOHAN DUMBLY REPLIED AS HE DROPPED OUT OF HIS STANCE

"I SAID I'LL GIVE YOU A HAND" PICCOLO REPEATED "NOW COME ON, WE NEED TO HURRY BEFORE THE HARPY REALISES YOU'VE DISSAPEARED"

"THANK YOU PICCOLO" GOHAN REPLIED GIVING HIS SENSEI A SHORT BOW OF RESPECT

"NO NEED FOR THANKS KID" PICCOLO REPLIED WHILE TURNING AROUND TO FACE GOHAN'S PREVIOUS TARGET "I'M JUST DOING WHAT ANY SENSEI WOULD FOR HIS STUDENT. NOW DON'T WE HAVE A DRAGON RADAR TO SWIPE?"

"YEAH LET'S GO THEN" AND WITH THAT THE PAIR WERE OFF.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------- AN HOUR LATER-----------------------

THE DUO LANDED OUTSIDE CAPSULE CORP JUST AS MRS. BREIFS, BULMA'S MOTHER WAS WATERING HER GARDEN.

"WHY HELLO THERE YOU TWO," SHE EXCLAIMED IN THAT LIGHT AIRY VOICE OF HERS "WOULD YOU LIKE SOME BROWNIES? I MADE THEM MYSELF THIS MORNING."

"NO THANK YOU" GOHAN REPLIED "WE'RE HERE TO SEE BULMA BUT WE CAN'T STAY TOO LONG"

"OH ALL RIGHT THEN!" MRS. BRIEFS SAID AS SHE MOVED TO GO INSIDE THE BUILDING "PLEASE COME IN, I'LL GO FIND MY DAUGHTER FOR YOU" GOHAN AND PICCOLO FOLLOWED HER INSIDE AND TOOK SEATS IN A NEARBY WAITING AREA

AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES THE DOOR THE THE WAITING ROOM OPENED AND BULMA WALKED IN. SHE CAUGHT SIGHT OF GOHAN AND RUSHED OVER TO HIM WITH A CONCERNED LOOK ON HER FACE.

"GOHAN!" SHE EXCLAIMED AS SHE PULLED GOHAN INTO A FIERCE HUG "ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU'RE AWFULLY PALE... ARE YOU YOU EATING ENOUGH? HAS CHI-CHI BEEN TREATING YOU WELL?"

"B-B-B-BULM-C-C-CAN'T" GOHAN MANAGED TO SQUEEZE OUT AS THE LACK OF AIR WAS TURING HIS FACE BLUE

"OH! SORRY..." BULMA APOLOGISED AS SHE RELEASED HER VICE LIKE GRIP ON THE PRE TEEN

"IT'S OK" GOHAN REPLIED AS THE COLOUR OR LACK THEREOF RETURNED TO HIS FACE "AND I'M OKAY AS WELL."

"WELL YOU DON'T LOOK IT!" BULMA RETORTED "YOU LOOK LIKE DEATH WARMED UP"

"ENOUGH" THE THIRD OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM INTERVIENED "GOHAN HAS A REASON FOR BEING HERE"

"OH RIGHT!" GOHAN RESPONDED "WELL, BULMA, I'M HERE TO ASK IF I CAN BORROW THE DRAGON RADAR"

"WHAT FOR?" BULMA ENQUIRED

"HE WANTS TO USE THE DRAGONBALLS TO GO TO SOMEWHRER THAT NEEDS HIM SCINCE EVERYONE EXCEPT YOU, YOUR PARENTS, VEGETA AND I BLAME HIM FOR GOKU STAYING IN THE OTHERWORLD" PICCOLO REPLIED

BULMA SIGHED "THAT'S TRUE BUT..." SHE THEN TURNED BACK TO GOHAN WITH SAD EYES "DO YOU HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE?"

"YES BULMA I DO" GOHAN SAID WITH A RESOLUTE LOOK IN HIS EYES "IF EVERYONE ELSE HERE DESPISES ME, HOW CAN I THROW MYSELF INTO A FIGHT TO PROTECT THEM?! BESIDES YOU DON'T NEED ME ANYMORE, VEGETA AND PICCOLO ARE HERE, BUT THERE MUST BE SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE THAT DOES, THAT'S WHY I NEED TO USE THE DRAGONBALLS, SO SHENRON CAN TAKE ME THERE AND I CAN HAVE A PURPOSE AGAIN."

"THERE'S NO STOPPING YOU IS THERE?" BULMA DEADPANNED TO WHICH GOHAN FIRMLY SHOOK HIS HEAD "ALRIGHT THEN" SHE THEN PULLED THE DRAGON RADAR OUT OF HER POCKET "BUT YOU'RE GETTING SOME EXTRA HELP FIRST" SHE THEN WALKED OVER TO AN INTERCOM ON THE WALL "VEEEEEEEEEGEEEEEEEEEEETAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!" SHE YELLED AT THE DEVICE "GET UP TO WAITING AREA G55 NOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!"

PICCOLO AND GOHAN HAD COVERED THEIR HYPERSENSITIVE EARS AND MANAGED TO AVOID THE WORST OF IT.

VEGETA, AS IT TURNED OUT A FEW MINUTES LATER, WAS NOT SO LUCKY.

"WOMAN!" VEGETA'S ABBRASIVE VOICE GROWLED AS HE SPOTTED HIS WIFE "I TOLD YOU NOT TO INTERRUPT MY TRAINING"

"WELL TOUGH" BULMA GLOATED AS SHE NOTICED VEGETA'S EARS TWITCHING SLIGHTLY "WE HAVE GUESTS" SHE STATED INDICATING THE OTHER PAIR

VEGETA TURNED AND SPOTTED GOHAN AND PICCOLO IN THE CORNER OF THE WAITING AREA

"WELL WELL!" VEGETA SAID IN A MOCKING VOICE "IF IT ISN'T THE GREEN MAN AND THE KAKABRAT HIMSELF! WHAT HONOR DO WE OWE FOR THIS SEEMINGLY ANNUAL OCCASSION?"

"VEGETA!" BULMA SHOUTED "BE QUIET AND LISTEN OR YOU'LL HAVE TO SUFFER MY COOKING FOR A MONTH!"

vEGETA PROMPTLY SHUT UP

"NOW YOUR GOING TO HELP GOHAN HERE FIND THE DRAGONBALLS" BULA ORDERED

"WHAT?!" VEGETA HISSED

"QUIET" BULMA SNAPPED "OR IT'LL BE MY COOKING AND THE COUCH FOR 2 MONTHS"

AT THIS VEGETA BECAME AS PALE AS GOHAN AND SHUT UP AGAIN

"GOOD, NOW GOHAN WHEN DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE?" BULMA ASKED

"RIGHT AWAY!" GOHAN REPLIED

BULMA SMILED SADLY AT GOHAN "ALL RIGHT THEN" SHE SAID SOFTLY AND GRABBED HIM IN A SOFT HUG "GOODBYE GOHAN" SHE WHISPERED WITH A FEW TEARS RUNNING DOWN HER CHEEKS

"GOODBYE BULMA" GOHAN REPLIED LEANING INTO THE EMBRACE

THEY PARTED AND BULMA THEN TURNED SHARPLY TO VEGETA "GET MOVING!"

VEGETA DID AS HE WAS TOLD

"COME ON GOHAN" PICCOLO SAID "WE SHOULD GET MOVING TOO"

"YEAH" GOHAN REPLIED WEAKLY "WE SHOULD" HE AND PICCOLO THEN TURNED AND FOLLOWED VEGETA.

AFTER THEY LEFT BULMA STOOD LOOKING AT THE SPOT GOHAN HAD JUST OCCUPIED "JUST LIKE GOKU..." SHE WHISPERED AS THE TEARS CONTINUED TO FALL. 'I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS CHI-CHI' SHE THOUGHT BITTERLY

A FEW MINUTES LATER, OUTSIDE CAPSULE CORP...

"WELL," GOHAN SAID, LOOKING AT BOTH HIS HELPERS "LET'S GO"

VEGETA AND PICCOLO NODDED AND THE 3 OF THEM TOOK OFF ON THE HUNT FOR THE DRAGONBALLS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------2 WEEKS LATER-------------------------

GOHAN, PICCOLO AND VEGETA STOOD IN A CLARING IN A FOREST IN A CIRCLE AROUND THE SEVEN GLOWING DRAGONBALLS

GOHAN HAD NOW LOST THE SICKLY PALLOR HE ONCE HAD AND NOW LOOKED AS HEALTHY AS HE SHOULD HAVE DONE TWO WEEKS AGO. HE WAS NOW WEARING A REPLICA OF GOKU'S OLD OUTFIT EXCEPT THE GI TOP AND PANTS WERE WHITE WHILE THE UNDERSHIRT, WRISTBANDS AND SASH WERE MIDNIGHT BLACK. HE ALSO HAD A LARGER VERSION OF THE SWORD PICCOLO HAD GIVEN HIM WHEN THEY WERE TRAINING FOR THE SAIYAN'S ARRIVAL STRAPPED TO HIS BACK, BUT THE SCABBARD WAS BLACK INSTEAD OF RED. THE GI TOP ALSO HAD PICCOLO'S SYMBOL ON THE PART COVERING HIS HEART.

VEGETA AND PICCOLO NODDED TO GOHAN WHO THEN HELD HIS ARMS OVER THE DRAGONBALLS AND SPOKE THE WORDS:

"ARISE SHENRON AND GRANT MY WISHES!"

THE DRAGONBALLS REACTED TO THE WORDS AND GLOWED A BRIGHT GOLD THAT OUTSHONE THE SUN AS THE SKIES DARKENED AND THE GOLDEN GLOW ERUPTRD INTO A PILLAR OG GOLDEN LIGHT THAT SNAKED AND COILED AROUND ITSELF UNTILL THE GOLD LIGHT RECCEDED INTO A STEADY PULSE AROUND THE CREATURE THAT TOOK IT'S PLACE

"YOU WHO HAVE SUMMONED ME!" THE GIANT, MYSTICAL DRAGON BOOMED "I SHALL GRANT YOU 2 WISHES! NAME THEM!"

"ALMIGHTY SHENRON!" GOHAN ADDRESSED "IS IT WITHIN YOUR POWERE TO TRANSPORT ME TO A PLACE WHERE THE PEOPLE THERE NEED ME?"

"IT IS!" THE DRAGON BOOMED IN RESPONSE

"AND IS IT ALSO POSSIBLE FOR ME TO DECLARE THAT THE WISH IS IRREVERSABLE UNTILL I SAY OTHERWISE?" GOHAN CONTINUED

"THAT IS WITHIN MY POWER, HOWEVER IT WOULD USE UP BOTH WISHES TO DO AS YOU ASK!" THE DRAGON REPLIED

"WELL I GUESS THIS IS IT THEN" GOHAN STATED TO THE OTHER TWO MORTALS

"DON'T NEGLECT YOUR TRAINING BRAT!" VEGETA BARKED

"COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF VEGETA" THE NAMEKIAN AGREED "GOHAN, BE CAREFUL."

"OF COURSE PICCOLO" GOHAN SAID WITH A GENUINE SMILE

"MY PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN!" THE DRAGON BOOMED FROM ABOVE THEM

"MY APPOLOGIES SHENRON," GOHAN REPLIED "PLEASE DO AS I ASKED"

"VERY WELL!" THE GREAT BEAST ROARED AS IT'S EYES STARTRED TO GLOW A BLOOD RED.

GOHAN GLOWED THE SAME COLOUR AND THEN VANISHED IN A FASH OF WHITE LIGHT

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------- KONOHAGAKURE 6 MONTHS BEFORE THE GENIN EXAMS -------------------------------

SARUTOBI SAT BACK IN HIS CHAIR IN THE HOKAGE TOWER, TAKING A BREAK FROM THE MASSES OF PAPERWORK THAT REQUIRED THE HOKAGE'S SIGNITURE, AND SMOKING HIS PIPE LAZILY.

'AH, FINALY,' THE THIRD HOKAGE THOUGHT 'A LITTLE PEACE AND QUIET AT LAST'

SUDDENLY THE DOOR BURST OPEN AND A RATHER DISHELVED ANBU ENTERED THE ROOM.

"LORD HOKAGE," THE ANBU SAID "NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS DEFACED THE HOKAGE MONUMENT AGAIN"

"WHICH ONE THIS TIME?" SARUTOBI SIGHED

"THE SECOND MY LORD" THE ANBU REPLIED

SARUTOBI SIGHED AGAIN 'I NEED A MIRACLE TO COPE WITH THAT BOY'

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------- ELSEWHERE IN THE VILLIAGE -------------------------------

"YA CAN'T CATCH ME!" A BOY ABOUT 12 WITH SPIKY BLONDE HAIR AND AN ORANGE JUMPSUIT SHOUTED AT HIS PURSUERS

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!" THE HEAD PURSUER SCREAMED WHILE SPORTING AN IMMENSELY OVERSISED HEAD "GET BACK HERE NOW!"

"SORRY IRUKA-SENSEI!" THE BOY SCREAMED BACK, UNAWARE OF A BRIGHT FLASH OF WHITE LIGHT DIRECTLY ABOVE HIS CURRENT COURSE.

A/N AND THAT'S WHERE I LEAVE OFF!

NOT MUCH OF A CLIFFHANGER AS YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS WHAT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN XD

I APPOLOGISE ABOUT THE CAPS, I DIDN'T NOTICE UNTIL I WAS HALFWAY DONE AND I DIDN'T WANT TO RE-TYPE IT

ANYWAY PLEASE REVIEW AS I NEED THEM TO CONTINUE THE STORY! 


	2. Chapter 2: Arrival

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEE A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: Hey all! I'm glad that you seem to be enjoying this story, I only wanted to try my hand at writing fanfiction and I honestly didn't expect positive reviews. A special thanks to StephanG and otogii as well as my anonomous reviewers slayer and tiffany my fisrt reviewers ever! Anyway, thanks for the support and thank you to everyone who has read the story also as you can see, I have fixed my caps problem, YAY!!!!!!!!! (even though it was just the caps lock...)

*Ahem* Anyway, let the story reccomense! here's a quick reminder of where we left off( it's in caps as it was quicker to paste it as I didn't want to keep you waiting too long plz forgive me)

------------------------ previously...--------------------------------------

"WELL I GUESS THIS IS IT THEN" GOHAN STATED TO THE OTHER TWO MORTALS

"DON'T NEGLECT YOUR TRAINING BRAT!" VEGETA BARKED

"COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF VEGETA" THE NAMEKIAN AGREED "GOHAN, BE CAREFUL."

"OF COURSE PICCOLO" GOHAN SAID WITH A GENUINE SMILE

"MY PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN!" THE DRAGON BOOMED FROM ABOVE THEM

"MY APPOLOGIES SHENRON," GOHAN REPLIED "PLEASE DO AS I ASKED"

"VERY WELL!" THE GREAT BEAST ROARED AS IT'S EYES STARTRED TO GLOW A BLOOD RED.

GOHAN GLOWED THE SAME COLOUR AND THEN VANISHED IN A FASH OF WHITE LIGHT

------------------ dimension skip ------------------------------------

"LORD HOKAGE," THE ANBU SAID "NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS DEFACED THE HOKAGE MONUMENT AGAIN"

"WHICH ONE THIS TIME?" SARUTOBI SIGHED

"THE SECOND MY LORD" THE ANBU REPLIED

SARUTOBI SIGHED AGAIN 'I NEED A MIRACLE TO COPE WITH THAT BOY'

----------------------------------- with "that boy" -------------------------------------

"YA CAN'T CATCH ME!" A BOY ABOUT 12 WITH SPIKY BLONDE HAIR AND AN ORANGE JUMPSUIT SHOUTED AT HIS PURSUERS

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!" THE HEAD PURSUER SCREAMED WHILE SPORTING AN IMMENSELY OVERSISED HEAD "GET BACK HERE NOW!"

"SORRY IRUKA-SENSEI!" THE BOY SCREAMED BACK, UNAWARE OF A BRIGHT FLASH OF WHITE LIGHT DIRECTLY ABOVE HIS CURRENT COURSE...

------------------------- The story continues --------------------------------

----------------------------------- Chapter 2: Arrival ---------------------------------

While Naruto was oblivious to the phenomenon directly above him, Iruka, who had been tailing him across the roofs of Konoha, had a perfect view of it.

"NARUTO!" Iruka yelled, attempting to catch the blonde's attention "LOOK OUT!"

Hearing the concerned tone his sensei was using, Naruto stopped to look around at Iruka, who was not looking at him, but at a spot above him. Curious, Naruto followed his teacher's gaze and looked at the.... thing. There was no other way to describe it as he had never seen anything like it before.

Directly above him was a pulsating orb of white light, which was steadily growing in size. As Naruto looked more closely, he could see the orb taking on a shape... the shape of a person.

Suddenly, the Orb started to glow a blood red colour, which then Faded to outline the glowing figure. The two lights merged to form a golden colour which then started to fade. In its place was a boy around Naruto's age wearing a white gi top and pants with a black undershirt, black sash and wristbands and a sword strapped to his back. The kid had unruly black hair which stood out at various points and defied gravity.

The gold light then lit up again and moved to the boy's left cheek where it formed a dragon shape and faded, leaving the dragon marking there in black looking like a tatoo of sorts.

Then, as if he were a pupet who's srings had been cut he began to fall, and landed rather unceremoniously on Naruto who hadn't bothered to move out of the way.

"Oof!" was the only sound Naruto made as he had the wind knocked out of him.

"Naruto!" Iruka was by him in a second "are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm ok" Naruto replied as soon as he could breathe properly again "I'm not too sure about this guy though" he gestured to the boy sprawled on top of him

Now that he was closer, Iruka got a better look at the mystery kid and the chunin academy teacher noticed the marking on the kid's left cheek. 'I wonder what this is?' he tought, studying it intently 'I'd better inform Lord Hokage about this, he knows a lot about this sort of thing'

As Iruka was pondering whether he should take the boy to the hospital, the dark haired boy started to stir.

"Urgh" he mumbled as he opened his eyes, revealing pupils as onyx as his hair "who're you?" he groggily asked the pinned blonde underneath him

"Naruto Uzumaki" the blonde replied "and you?"

To say Iruka was shocked would be an understatement. Normally, Naruto would have already gone into his routine of announcing that he was the future Hokage of Konoha, but this time, Iruka noticed, Naruto was staring intently into the newcomers eyes

"Gohan Son" the black haired one replied, turning his head away from the intense stare Naruto was giving him "and you are?"  
Gohan asked gestruring towards Iruka

"Iruka Umino" the brunette shinobi replied "how old are you Gohan?" he then asked

"I'm 12" Gohan answered

"So your only 6 months older than me!" the trapped blonde exclaimed. Suddenly realising that he was still lying on Naruto the onyx haired teen stood up ubruptly

"Sorry about that" Gohan appologised

"That's ok" the blonde replied still somewhat shocked at what he had seen when he had looked into Gohan's eyes. 'He's the same as me' Naruto thoght 'or at least how I used to be until I met Iruka-sensei. his eyes look so tired, like they don't have anymore tears to shed'

"Gohan," Iruka interrupted "can I ask about the mark an your left cheek?"

"What mark?" Gohan asked, genuinely confused

"That one" the blonde interjected while prodding said mark

As Naruto attacked the offending dragon imprint a familiar booming voice echoed in his head.

'THIS IS THE ONE' the disembodied voice of a certain giant mystical dragon stated 'HE HAS MANY DIFFICULT CHALLENGES AHEAD OF HIM AND YOU HAVE BEEN SENT TO AID HIM AS YOU WISHED FOR.'the dragon explained 'THE "MARK" THEY SPEAK OF SYMBOLISES YOUR SECOND WISH AND WILL REMAIN THERE UNTIL YOU WISH TO RETURN TO YOUR OWN WORLD. FAREWELL!' and with that, Shenron's voice dissapeared.

"Uh... I don't know," the white clad boy lied "I didn't have it before'

"In that case we'd better go see the Hokage" Iruka reasoned "He's the wisest Shinobi in the villiage and should Know somethi-  
NARUTO STOP POKING GOHAN'S CHEEK!!!" Iruka yelled at Naruto while activatng his infamous 'Demon head jutsu'

"Sorry," the blonde meekly replied "I didn't realise I was still doing it"

"Anyway, Naruto you will come with me and Gohan to the Hokage's office, you need to face up for vandallising the Hokage monument after all"

"All right," Naruto sighed "let's go"

Naruto jumped form the roof they were on to the road below and, to Iruka's suprise, Gohan followed.

'That's odd' Iruka thought but he didn't say anything ----------------------- At the Hokage tower -------------------------------

Naruto, Gohan and Iruka waited ouside the door the Hokage's office

"Come in!" the voice of the Hokage said through the door. Iruka then walked in front of the door and opened it. He motioned for the two boys to follow him inside.

The third Hokage sat in the chair behind the desk, looking at Gohan briefly then turning his attention to Iruka

"Ah, it seems you have caught the villiages number 1 prankster again Iruka!" Sarutobi exclaimed while throwing an amused glance at Naruto. He then returned his gaze back to Gohan, studying him scutinously "And who might this young man be?" he asked

"His name is Gohan Son, Lord Hokage." Iruka repied "he appeared in the viliage a few minutes ago in a very odd way."

"An odd way?" the third asked "how so?"

"He just appeared out of thin air in this ball of light thingy" Naruto explained "then the light went to his cheek and made that weird tatoo" He continued while walking over to Gohan and poking the aforementioned mark

Iruka quickly separated Naruto's finger from Gohan's cheek

"Hmmm..." the Hokage mumbled, looking toughtful "Did you have that mark before you arrived here Gohan?" he asked the boy

"No I did not" Gohan answered

"Then it would be safe to assume that it was caused by whatever happened to you Gohan" Sarutobi concluded

"It seems so"

"Ah, who cares?" Naruto interrupted "It looks cool so leave it at that" He moved to attack it again

"That's an odd habit your developing there Naruto" the third chuckled as Iruka moved the Blonde away from his fixation

"So?" Naruto protested

"Never mind" the Hokage said before turning his attention to Gohan again "where are you from my boy?" he asked

"Somewhere I don't want to return to" the son of Goku replied crypticly

Naruto immediately understood and jumped to Gohan's defense

"Let it go old man" he said "If he Doesn't want to say it he shouldn't have to."

Sarutobi closed his mouth and refrained from asking the question that was on the tip of his toungue. Instead he asked a different question

"Are you a shinobi Gohan?" he inquired "judging from your build and the sword on your back it seems you are no stranger to a fight"

"No I am not a shinobi Lord Hokage" Gohan replied

'This boy reminds me of Itachi' Sarutobi mused 'he speaks with almost no emotion and has that same feel to him, but his eyes are like Naruto's were... could he be...'he snapped out of his thoughts

"have you any interest in becoming one?" he asked "from what I can sense you have the potential" he pressed

"the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but I wouldn't be adverse to the idea" the hybrid replied

"Exellent!" Sarutobi exclaimed "I hope your a quick study because you will need to catch up with the rest of your class,  
Naruto should be albe to fill you in on what you've missed out"

Naruto was exstatic at this

"He's going into my class?" he looked over at Iruka "Isn't that great Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka looked at the hyped up blonde and nodded "why don't you show him aruond the viliage Naruto? If he's going to become a leaf ninja then he needs to Know his way around." he suggested

"Sure thing Iruka-sensei!" the blonde ran over to Gohan and dragged him out of the room by his arm "I'll give you the Grand tour and then you can stay at my place Gohan!" Gohan smiled and nodded

"Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice do I?" he asked

"No you don't" the younger boy replied sternly "I never thoght I'd need to use the spare bed"he mused "Come on, I'll show you Ichiraku's first"

------------------------ back in the office --------------------------

Iruka turned to the Hokage with a serious expression.

"We need to talk"

"what about?" Sarutobi Enquired

--------------------------------- end chapter ----------------------------------

A/N: DUN-DUN-DUN!

what's got Iruka all serious? and why does Gohan remind the Hokage of Itatchi?

coming soon: Chapter 3: Academy Rivalry: Gohan vs Sasuke!

plz read and review! 


	3. Chapter 3 : Gohan vs Sasuke

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY.  
Also, Sasuke is in this chapter... 'nuff said

A/N: Good news everyone! Chapter 3 is here! Special thanks to StephanG and otogii for reviewing again and welcome Supreme Tempest thanks for the heads up! I'll get working on fixing ch1 as soon as I can but it might not be for a while as i'm much more concerened with giving you updates. As for your Idea otogii i had already planned this, but it won't be for a while 3 maybe 4 chapters away, as for the question as to if Gohan will learn how to use chakra or not, the answer is in the next chapter so you'll find out then. Also the academy part will not last all that long and i bet you can already guess which team Gohan will be placed on (anyone who can't fails epically) Also, what do you think about Naruto's new Habit? Honestly I found myself writing it because I thought it was funny and fitted in with Naruto's character well, but i'd be intrested to hear your views about it. if you don't like it then i'll write it out of the story. and what about the 'tatoo' on Gohan's cheek?  
please tell me your views on that as well.

Again, thanks to everyone who has reviwed and read the story and please enjoy chapter 3! It contains my first fight scene!

-------------- previously ------------------------

"Naruto!" Iruka was by him in a second "are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm ok" Naruto replied as soon as he could breathe properly again "I'm not too sure about this guy though" he gestured to the boy sprawled on top of him

Now that he was closer, Iruka got a better look at the mystery kid and the chunin academy teacher noticed the marking on the kid's left cheek. 'I wonder what this is?' he tought, studying it intently 'I'd better inform Lord Hokage about this, he knows a lot about this sort of thing'

the dark haired boy started to stir.

"Urgh" he mumbled as he opened his eyes, revealing pupils as onyx as his hair "who're you?" he groggily asked the pinned blonde underneath him

"Naruto Uzumaki" the blonde replied "and you?"

"Gohan Son" the black haired one replied

----------------------- At the Hokage tower -------------------------------

The third Hokage sat in the chair behind the desk, looking at Gohan briefly then turning his attention to Iruka

"Ah, it seems you have caught the villiages number 1 prankster again Iruka!" Sarutobi exclaimed while throwing an amused glance at Naruto. He then returned his gaze back to Gohan, studying him scutinously "And who might this young man be?" he asked

"His name is Gohan Son, Lord Hokage." Iruka repied "he appeared in the viliage a few minutes ago in a very odd way."

"An odd way?" the third asked "how so?"

"He just appeared out of thin air in this ball of light thingy" Naruto explained "then the light went to his cheek and made that weird tatoo" He continued while walking over to Gohan and poking the aforementioned mark

"Are you a shinobi Gohan?" he inquired "judging from your build and the sword on your back it seems you are no stranger to a fight"

"No I am not a shinobi Lord Hokage" Gohan replied

'This boy reminds me of Itachi' Sarutobi mused 'he speaks with almost no emotion and has that same feel to him, but his eyes are like Naruto's were... could he be...'he snapped out of his thoughts

"have you any interest in becoming one?" he asked "from what I can sense you have the potential" he pressed

"the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but I wouldn't be adverse to the idea" the hybrid replied.

---------------------------------- Chapter 3 Academy Rivalry: Gohan vs Sasuke ------------------------------------------

After leaving the Hokage's tower, Naruto and Gohan walked towards Ichiraku's.

While they were waking down the main street, Gohan couldn't help but notice the hateful glares that the villiagers were sending towards Naruto

'Why are they looking at him like that' Gohan wondered 'it's the same look mom used to give me after dad died...' As he thought this, he looked over at Naruto 'yet he doesn't seem bothered by it'

As if sensing Gohan's thoughts, Naruto spoke up "Don't worry about them" he assured "I get those stares all the time, but I have no idea why..." Naruto trailed off

"Don't you want to know?" Gohan asked

"Of course I do" Naruto replied "but no one will tell me"

'It must be important if even the Hokage won't tell him' Gohan surmised "I'm sure you'll find out soon" he said

"yeah, I hope so," the blonde replied "but I have an odd feeling I won't like it when I do"

"Just cross that Bridge when you get to it" Gohan advised

"Your right" Naruto agreed, looking up and noticing where they were he then exclaimed "here we are!" and gestured to the stand. He walked in, lifting the flaps and motioned for Gohan to follow him "Hey Gramps!" Naruto greeted while waving to the elderly man standing in front of a frier

"Naruto!" the man exclaimed "how's my favorite customer doing today? The usual I presume?

"Make it two, one for my buddy Gohan here" the blonde corrected indicating the onyx haired boy standing beside him

"Well, any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine!" Ichiraku exclaimed "and as a treat for the occasion you can have all you want on the house!"

"Really?" Naruto asked "that's great! C'mon Gohan sit down, this is the best place for ramen in the entire viliage!"

"Alright" Gohan conceeded while inwardly wondering what ramen was 'I'll find out soon enough' he thought

While their ramen was being made, Naruto spoke up "Hey gramps, where's Ayame?"

"She's out getting ingedients at the market but she left just before you to arrived" the elderly man answered as he finished

"Here you go, two bowls of miso ramen, enjoy"

"You bet I will!" the blonde stated before turing his attention to Gohan "Go on, try it" he pressed

"Okay..." Gohan replied and brought some to his mouth and popped it in

The effect was instantaneous

"W-wow!" Gohan stuttered before proceeding to practically inhale the ramen in a matter of seconds at a speed which even Naruto could never hope to match. He looked up at the man with a shy look on his face while holding out his bowl in an obvious gesture

"Looks like I've got two of you on my hands huh?" the man chuckled

"You got that right" the boys spoke in unison.

------------------------------ 10 minutes and 30 bowls of ramen later ------------------------------

The pair left the ramen stand with full stomachs and, true to his word, Naruto proceeded in giving Gohan the Grand tour of Konoha. Gohan was shown everything from the memorial stone to the Ninja academy

"We start back tomorrow so we'd better head to my place so we can get some sleep" Naruto reasoned and Gohan agreed.

--------------------------------- Naruto's Apartment ----------------------------

"well, this is it!" the blonde exclaimed "Home sweet home! What d'ya think?"

"It's nice" Gohan commented "It has that warm, Homely feel to it, but..." Gohan followed his nose to the fridge in the kitchen area. He opened it, pulled out a milk carton and emptied it's lumpy contents out into the nearby sink "You need to keep an eye on your use-by dates Naruto, God knows what this could have done to you if you had drunk it" he finished, turning the tap on and washing the rancid milk down the plughole

"Heh heh" the whiskered boy nervously replied "I've never been that good at keeping an eye on the little things"

"If you plan on becoming a shinobi, Naruto, you had better improve on that" Gohan lectured "from what I understand, Shinobi are masters of stealth and traps so unless you want to be captured, or worse, killed, then you should start as soon as you can" he continued, remembering reading about shinobi in one of the many books he had been forced to study

"I know, but the basics are boring" Naruto prostested while pulling out the spare bed forom a cupboard along with some spare bedding

"Never underestimate the Basics Naruto," Gohan retorted "My old sensei taught me that a long time ago, the hard way, I don't want to see you make the same mistakes I did"

Naruto didn't respond as he knew it wasn't his place to ask about Gohan's past 'He'll tell me when he's ready' he thought

"Here," Naruto said while handing him the futon and bedding "Stay as long as you like, as long as you get your own ramen" he joked, attacking the older boy's mark again for added emphasis

"Thanks Naruto" Gohan said sincerely "you're a good friend" He then moved to a corner, set up the futon and was out cold

'Friend?' Naruto thought, shocked 'I've never had a friend my own age before' he couldn't stop the grin that now covered his face from forming even with the strongest frown that the 'last Uchiha' himself could muster. He took one last glance at his new friend before heading to his own bed, exited about the next day. It wasn't long before the apartment was filled with the snores of the new friends.

---------------------------- the next day, outside Iruka's clasroom --------------------

"There you are tou two!" Iruka said as the pair walked towards the room "the rest have already gone inside, Naruto, you go in too, Gohan, can you wait here until I come fetch you?" he asked

Gohan merely nodded

"There'll be a spare seat next to Naruto, Gohan, that will be your seat for the remainder of the year" Iruka explained

Gohan nodded again and watched as his friend and teacher dissappeared into the classroom.

---------------------- inside ------------------------------------------

"Alright, settle down everyone," Iruka spoke to his class "We have a new student joining the class today so please be kind to him" he continued as he left the room to call in the new student

Curious murmours flooded the room after the door had closed

"Hey, Sasuke," a girl with pink Hair said to a brooding boy sitting next to her "who do you think the new kid is? Don't you think it's a bit odd to start halfway through the year?"

Sasuke sent her one of his 'who cares' looks and then ignored her

"I'd agree with you Sakura, If it wasn't too troublesome to admit it" a new voice stated from the opposite desk

"Shikamaru," The girl, Sakura, began before she was interrupted by the door to the room opening.

Iruka had returned and was followed by Gohan who drew everyone's attention, including Sasuke's

"Class, this is Gohan Son, who will be in this class from now on, Gohan, introduce yourself" Iruka prompted

"My name is Gohan Son," the onyx haired boy began "I am 12 years old and I don't come from this viliage." he finished

"Thank you, Gohan" Iruka praised "now take a seat". Gohan nodded and, to everyone's suprise (except Iruka and a certain blonde) he took the seat next to Naruto.

"Alright class," Iruka said "I need a volenteer to fight Gohan so I can see what he is capable of"

"I'll do it" said the voice of Sasuke Uchiha, To the suprise of everyone

"Fine" Iruka agreed "Everyone go to training ground 1 please"

-------------------------- at training ground 1 -------------------------------------------

"Alright boys," Iruka started "show us what you can do"

'There's no way this guy could beat Sasuke' was the collective thoght of all but one of the onlooking students

"WHOOP HIS BUTT GOHAN!" Nauto yelled causing everyone but the two participants to look at him as if he had grown an extra head

Gohan looked over at Naruto and flashed a small grin at him before turning to his opponent and sinking into his fighting stance, his sword still sheathed.

"This will be a taijutsu fight only," Iruka decreed "no other techniques are allowed"

Gohan and Sasuke both nodded in confirmation

"BEGIN!"

As soon as the word left Iruka's mouth, Sasuke charged in, intent on proving his superiority to the new kid. He aimed a right hook at Gohan, but ,in an incredible display of speed, The hybrid simply sidestepped to the right and out the way of the Uchiha's attack. Wasting no time, Sasuke dropped down and attempted a sweeping kick to knock the half saiyan off his feet,  
but Gohan backflipped out of the way, suprising everyone and earning a "Hell yeah!" from a certain whiskered blonde

"Is that all?" Gohan mocked "I could do better than that when I was six"

Infuriated, Sasuke charged in again, seemingly for another frontal assault, but feinted to the left just as he reached the hybrid andaimed a vicious roundhouse kick at Gohan's head, but the hybrid raised his right arm to intercept the blow. Sasuke's foot collided with Gohan's arm and Sasuke could have sworn he had kicked a metal block instead of flesh and blood.

"My turn" Gohan stated as he turned and grabbed Sasuke's leg with his left hand and flung the Uchiha towards a nearby tree, which he crashed into with a sickening thump sound. 'Screw the rules' Sasuke thought After Getting back on his feet and started forming handseals. Before Iruka could stop him, The seals were complete.

"FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" Sasuke yelled as he brought his hand to his mouth and exhaled, Creating a large fireball that soared towards Gohan, who didn,t move out of the way, intead he brought his left hand forward and extented his fingers, palm forwards as, to everyone else, a blue ball of what, to them, appeared to be pure chakra formed in front of his palm.

Gohan made a quick "HA!" and launched the 'chakra ball' at the ball of fire.

Unexpectidly, to the potential shinobi and Iruka, the little blue blast passed through the fireball, dissipating it in the process, and detonating as it hit Sasuke, who was still shocked at having seen his jutsu been negated, Sending him back into the tree.

He Didn't bother getting back up.

"Winner, Gohan Son!" Iruka Ruled "And I thought I said taijutsu only, but never mind, no harm done'  
"That was amazing Gohan!" Naruto praised his friend as he walked towards him and subconciously prodding the half saiyan's dragon mark again

"Thanks Naruto" Gohan replied

"Alright everyone" Iruka said as the defeated Uchiha pulled himself back to his feet "Let's get back to class, we still have a lot to do for the graduation exam"

--------------------------------------- chapter end ---------------------------------

A/N: Phew! I didn't realise writing fight scenes was so tough, but it was fun, even though it was short.

please tell me what you thought about it! READ AND REVIEW! 


	4. Chapter 4: The Graduation Exams

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: It's me again with chapter 4! Again a special thanks to StephanG and a warm welcome to RazgrizAce22 and ghost. And just to clear everything up about Iruka not being all that suprised at when Gohan used a ki blast, you seem to be forgetting the end of chapter 2. Now, the academy part is short but the explanation you've been waitng for takes up a large part of this chapter

The poll is CLOSED and the answer was (play drumroll) ................................. YES! so this fic is henceforth a naru/Gohan brotherly fic! Thanks to all who voted (all 6 of you...)

Now let the story continue...

----------------------------- previously --------------------------------

"Here," Naruto said while handing him the futon and bedding "Stay as long as you like, as long as you get your own ramen" he joked, attacking the older boy's mark again for added emphasis

"Thanks Naruto" Gohan said sincerely "you're a good friend" He then moved to a corner, set up the futon and was out cold

'Friend?' Naruto thought, shocked 'I've never had a friend my own age before' he couldn't stop the grin that now covered his face from forming even with the strongest frown that the 'last Uchiha' himself could muster.

---------------------------- the next day, outside Iruka's clasroom --------------------

"There you are tou two!" Iruka said as the pair walked towards the room "the rest have already gone inside, Naruto, you go in too, Gohan, can you wait here until I come fetch you?" he asked

Gohan merely nodded

"There'll be a spare seat next to Naruto, Gohan, that will be your seat for the remainder of the year" Iruka explained

Gohan nodded again and watched as his friend and teacher dissappeared into the classroom.

---------------------- inside ------------------------------------------

"Class, this is Gohan Son, who will be in this class from now on, Gohan, introduce yourself" Iruka prompted

"My name is Gohan Son," the onyx haired boy began "I am 12 years old and I don't come from this viliage." he finished

"Thank you, Gohan" Iruka praised "now take a seat". Gohan nodded and, to everyone's suprise (except Iruka and a certain blonde) he took the seat next to Naruto.

"Alright class," Iruka said "I need a volenteer to fight Gohan so I can see what he is capable of"

"I'll do it" said the voice of Sasuke Uchiha, To the suprise of everyone

"Fine" Iruka agreed "Everyone go to training ground 1 please"

-------------------------- at training ground 1 -------------------------------------------

"FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" Sasuke yelled as he brought his hand to his mouth and exhaled, Creating a large fireball that soared towards Gohan, who didn,t move out of the way, intead he brought his left hand forward and extented his fingers, palm forwards as, to everyone else, a blue ball of what, to them, appeared to be pure chakra formed in front of his palm.

Gohan made a quick "HA!" and launched the 'chakra ball' at the ball of fire.

Unexpectidly, to the potential shinobi and Iruka, the little blue blast passed through the fireball, dissipating it in the process, and detonating as it hit Sasuke, who was still shocked at having seen his jutsu been negated, Sending him back into the tree.

He Didn't bother getting back up

------------------------------------------ Chapter 4: The Graduation exam ---------------------------------

The time at the academy progressed progressed quickly for Gohan. However at first he found himself unable to use this "chakra" that the others could. A few days After the fight with Sasuke, The Hokage had asked Gohan to see him in his office.

Of course, a certain blonde friend of his had tagged along as well...

---------------------------------- flashback --------------------------------

"Ah, Gohan!" The Hokage greeted before noticing Naruto and giving him a dissapproving look "I asked to see Gohan alone,  
Naruto, you sho-"

"Anything you can say to me, Naruto can hear as well" Gohan interrupted "He'll find out sooner or later anyway," he added "His powers of persuasion are... unrivalled"

"But you'd tell me anyway, right?" The blonde said while looking at Gohan with his newly developed 'puppy eyes Jutsu'

"Of course, Naruto" Gohan caved "see what I mean?" he added to the Hokage

Sarutobi nodded dumbly 'I hope Ibiki doesn't learn of this' he thought 'With him and Naruto interrogating someone they'd get him to spill his life story' He shuddered at the thought of Ibiki's torture mechanisms and Naruto's puppy eyes combined

Naruto shot Gohan one of his fox-like grins and turned to the Hokage

"Very well," the third replied "but you musn't tell anyone else what you hear, Understood Naruto?" he added to which the Blonde nodded enthusiastically

"So what is this about?" the half saiyan asked before realising the only reason that coulld possibly explain the sudden summons "My fight with... uh what's his name again?" he turned to his friend

"Sasuke" Naruto supplied

"Right, that guy. Sas-whatever" at this Naruto snorted and had to cover his mouth to stop himself laughing

"Very astute, Gohan" The Hokage replied to the boy's earlier question "That is what this is about. Can you tell me about it?"

"It was awesome!" the blonde exclaimed "Gohan dodged all of Sasuke's lame attacks, threw him into a tree and shot this blue ball thing at Sasuke's jutsu when he decided to cheat. It flew right through the fireball and hit the cheater back into the tree!"

"Thank you, Naruto" Sarutobi deadpanned "but I did ask Gohan" he said while turning to the onyx haired boy

"Naruto pretty much explained it" Gohan answered "whats-his-name fired some weird fire ball at me and I shot a small ki blast at it to see what it was"

At the word 'ki' the Hokage dropped his pipe. He quickly regained his composure enough to ask:

"K-K-Ki, as in life force?"

"That's correct" Gohan replied while Naruto had his squinty face on

"What's Ki?" the confused blonde asked

Falling back into 'wise old man mode' The Hokage replied "As you know Naruto, Chakra is made out of two distinct types of energy: physical energy or stamina and spiritual energy. Ki is another name for spiritual energy. By combining this with Stamina, we shinobi are able to create the chakra we need to form jutsu we use. However, it is possible to use Ki by itself with devastating effects. Ki is far more destuctive than chakra, but using it comes at the price of shortening your life span"

Upon hearing this, Naruto looked at Gohan with a worried glance

"That's where you're wrong lord Hokage" Gohan retorted "There is a difference between using Ki and using your life force."

At this Naruto looked immensely relieved while the Hokage looked extremely curious

"Every person has a set amount of ki that is increased by using it, but only if you use up the amount that you have do you start using up your life force" Gohan continued, Repeating the words of his old Sensei from all those years ago "however it is difficult to distinguish ki from your life force when you use it. So what you said is true lord Hokage but it only applies to someone whio has used up their reserves of ki"

Sarutobi Nodded while absorbing this information 'This will surely relive Iruka' he thought

"Wow!" the hyperactive blonde exclaimed "you must be really strong Gohan!"

The hybrid chuckled before turing to the Hokage "Naruto has told me how to create chakra but I seem to be having trouble with it" he said

"I'm not suprised" the Hokage replied "you've been using Ki so you've never had to combine it with anything. My advice would be to attempt creating chakra when your ki reserves are getting low, that way you'll have a better chance and after you've created it you'll have no problems tapping into it from then on" He then opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a small piece of a yellowish coloured paper before handing it to Gohan

"Try creating a Ki ball over that" The Hokage explained "I'm curious about something"

"Alright..." Gohan replied sceptically before doing what he was asked. The blue ball hovered over the paper before something suprising happened.

The paper became wet.

"I thought so" The Hokage said "I wondered why Sasuke's fire jutsu was destroyed when your ki blast passed through it but now it makes sense, your chakra has an affinity to water. Water techniques have an advantage over the fire element"

"But Gohan doesn't use Chakra yet, right?" Naruto asked "So how can he have an element if he doesn't use chakra?"

The HoKage was suprised. He had expected Naruto to demand he find out what his element was, but was more concerned with the onyx eyed boy next to him 'He's acting like a worried little brother' he mused before turning his gaze back to Gohan 'maybe Gohan is the miracle I asked for after all...' he then answered Naruto

"Evidently it seems that a person's elemental affinity is decided by their spiritual energy" Sarutboi concluded

"It seems that way, And thank you, Lord Hokage, for the advice" Gohan said with a deep, respectful bow "I will start my training to learn how to use Chakra with all due haste"

'If only he could be less formal' the third thought, inwardly cringing at the bow the boy was giving him, but was simply astounded when the blonde hurredly did the same 'Naruto's even started to emulate Gohan, even though they've only been around each other for a few days, I doubt I'll be able to separate them at all by the time the graduation exams roll around'

"That's quite alright Gohan" Sarutobi said "now get going you two, You have a test tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah, we do, C'mon Gohan the quicker we study for it, the quicker we can start training!" Naruto said, while running out of the room

"Training?" the Hokage asked the remaining boy

"Yeah, Naruto persuaded me to help him improve his Taijutsu skills" Gohan replied, Referring to the 'Eyes of doom'. Then a thought occured to him. "Lord Hokage," he began "Could you do me a favour?" he asked

"What is it, my boy?" Sarutobi answered

"Well," Gohan said with an almost shy look on his face " I was wondering if you could take Naruto shopping for some gi,  
preferably like my own, but with the symbol for my name here" he continued, pointing to Picollo's symbol "as well as a sword"  
he added

"Why of course, Gohan" the Hokage said with a smile "But why can't you take him?" he then asked

"I would, but The people in the villiage say I've been 'corrupted' by Naruto" Gohan said with a confused look

The Hokage's smile vanished "I see..." he said "well, leave it to me, I'll be sure to see to it that your new pupil gets the items you requested"

"GOHAN!" a familiar voice shouted "HURRY UP, I WANT TO START TRAINING!"

"You'd better go!" the Hokage chuckled

"Yeah," Gohan said while astounding the Hokage again by sporting a very Naruto-ish grin "See ya old man!" he said over his shoulder while running to catch up with his friend

The Hokage simply stood there in shock

'Maybe it does work both ways after all' he thought before returning his attention back to his paperwork

----------------------------------------------- end mega long flashback -------------------------------------

After that visit, Naruto had become much better at his Taijutsu over the next few months, while Gohan had followed the Hokage's advice and had mastered how to use Chakra and had even used his elemental affinity to create two new jutsu in secret as well as master the water clone jutsu, which he taught to Naruto

The routine was the same every day over the 6 months they had. They would wake up at 6, Have breakfast (which usualy consisted of ramen), train for an hour on various things like taijutsu or their swordsmanship, head to the academy, return home, then study for any tests that they had. After that they worked on their aim with kunai and shuriken, Then was dinner (again, Ramen, but at Ichiraku's most of the time). After that they trained until 9 when they went to bed.

Gohan had asked Naruto not to show off any of the new skills he had learnt until the exams and Naruto had reluctantly ageed.

Then, the day came...

-------------------------------------- Day of the Graduation exams ---------------------------------

"Naruto, today you can wear your gi if you want" Gohan said to Naruto, who was about to put his normal orange clothes on

"Really?" the blonde asked "but you said I couldn't until..." he trailed off as realisation dawned on his face

"That's right, today's the day" Gohan replied, smiling "the graduation exam is today, and I expect you to pass" he continued,  
sternly

"I'll do my best!" the blonde one shouted "Believe it!"

Gohan slapped his forehead with his palm "I thought I told you to stop saying that,"he deadpanned "It's so stupid, and if I think that, God Knows what eveyone else thinks"

"Sorry..." the blonde said with a small grin "I sort of forgot"

"It's ok, just hurry up." Gohan assured "And bring your sword too, you might need it"

The blonde nodded and after putting his gi on, stapped his sword to his back and the pair of them left for the academy, getting a few confused stares along the way.

------------------------------------------ The academy, inside Iruka's classroom ------------------------------------

As the pair walked in, the classes attention was drawn to them.

Shikamaru noticed the symbol on Naruto's gi and his eyes widened slightly in suprise

Everyone else was noticing the outfit as a whole and had one collective thought 'WHAT. THE. HELL?!!'

Iruka also noticed but he wasn't suprised, the Hokage had Informed him of Gohan's intent to train Naruto while he was told of Gohan's abilities.

"Alright class, outside to the training ground please" Iruka said when everyone had settled down

-------------------------------------- training ground -------------------------------------------

The first part of the exam was target pravtice with stationary and moving targets, 10 of each. The objective was to hit as many targets as you could.

Sasuke looked increadibly smug as he managed to hit 19 of the 20 targets, but the smirk was wiped off his face when both Gohan and Naruto Hit all the targets.

"Well done everyone!" Iruka said "Now back inside for the final two parts"

------------------------------------------ classroom -----------------------------------------

"Alright, the final parts are to display your jutsu skills. Everyone will perform the transormation jutsu and the Clone jutsu" Iruka explained

The class then, one by one, Transformed into various people, mostly Iruka, and then proceeded to create doubles of themselves

When it came to Gohan's turn, He transformed into Sasuke with the Uchiha's trademark scowl on his face.

Naruto was rolling around on the floor with laughter at the real Sasuke's face, which had contorted to an odd mix of anger,  
confusion and annoyance at Naruto's laughing at once.

"Very good, Gohan Now perform the clone Jutsu please" Iruka said after Gohan released his transformation

Gohan formed a hand seal and said "Water clone jutsu" And out of the floor came two puddles of water which formed identical versions of himself.

Iruka was suprised, but could not think of a rule that said examinees couldn't use techniques that were superior to the ones that they were asked to perform.

"Exellent, Gohan, you pass!" Iruka announced after a moment and Naruto burst into admiring whoops and claps. "Naruto Uzumaki"  
Iruka said, reading the next, and final, name on the list

Naruto stepped forward and Performed the tranformation.

After the shinobi smoke cleared, a copy of Gohan stood in Naruto's place

'Big suprise' was the sardonic thought that ran through the heads of everyone exept the two Gohans. The real one had a look of pride in his eyes as Naruto honored his teacher by copying him

"Good, Naruto," Iruka said, but inwardly he was dreading the next part 'this jutsu has never been Naruto's strong point' "next, the clone jutsu please."

Naruto grinned and performmed the same hand sign Gohan used and spoke "Water clone jutsu" and just like Gohan he created two clones

Iruka was relieved and looked at Gohan with an appreciative look

"Congratulations Naruto, You pass!"he said

After that Naruto ran around the room jumping and shouting for what seemed like hours

----------------------------------- end chapter ------------------------------------------

A/N: Well, what d'you think? I decided to have Naruto pass the exam as Gohan would be very upset if he didn't. Also, Don't worry about the Part with Mizuki, that will come later on, I'm just going to leave Naruto oblivious to a certain fox FOR NOW

Anyway don't forget to read and review! 


	5. Chapter 5: Kakashi's Test: The Real Exam

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: Chapter 5 is here! however, Before the thanks I need to clear up a few things

Firstly, Naruto's character is NOT being changed, All i'm doing is having him act a bit like Gohan as he sees Gohan as a sort of role model. As I've already explained to StephanG, Naruto has not had a permanent 24/7 influence in his life until now. Also, With the constant presence of a Brainbox like Gohan, Naruto will have undoubtedly picked up on thinking things through more carefully (I mean, with someone like Gohan training you, you'd have to). However, this doesn't mean that Naruto won't still be Konoha's #1 hyperactive, knucklehead Ninja, just that he's a TINY little bit smarter, what with all the studying he and Gohan Have done!

Now to the thanks and a Big, special one goes to StephanG for pointing out this fact that many of you may think I'm changing Naruto's character too much. Also a BIG, warm welcome to TobiGB, thanks for the review and also, once again, thanks to every single one of you 500 and odd people who have read the story! though i'm a teensy bit miffed that I've only had 15 reviews...

I need to know what you think if I'm to rectify the problems that you may have!

*Ahem* now that my mini rant and explaination are out of the way, Behold the glory of chapter 5! (alright maybe it's not glorious, but still...)

Also, one of Gohan's jutsu will apear in the next chapter, if not both!

--------------------------------- previosly ----------------------------------

Ah i'm not gonna bother this time as nothing Majorly important happened, so i'll give you a very quick runthrough:

1. Gohan and Naruto visit the Hokage, find out about Gohan's element and Gohan trains Naruto with his taijutsu

2. Gohan and Naruto pass the Graduation exams

Now let us continue.....

------------------------------ Chapter 5: Kakashi's test: The REAL Genin exam! -----------------------

------------------------- the next day -----------------------------------------

After the newly graduated class had settled down (which was a VERY long time with a certain hyperactive Blonde bouncing around the room), Iruka had got everyone seated.

"Alright class," He began "you will now be separated into your Genin teams" Several Jounin entered the room and Iruka read the names of each squad from the list that he had and the mentioned graduates went off with the Jounin that they were asaigned to.

"Team 7 will have 4 members due to the odd number of graduates" Iruka announced "this team will consist of Sakura Haruno,"

The pink haired girl looked away from Sasuke at hearing her name called

"Naruto Uzumaki"

The mentioned Blonde looked at Iruka at this while Sakura suddenly became exteremly depressed

"Sasuke Uchiha"

The brooding Uchiha suddenly became even more annoyed at the news of who his teammates were and shot Iruka a withering glare while the depressed pink haired girl suddenly became elated and screamed "HA! IN YOUR FACE INO!" While Naruto looked at Iruka with almost pleading eyes

"and the final member of team 7 is Gohan Son" Iruka ended

At this Naruto was barely managing to contain his exitement, Gohan looked satified and nodded, Sakura was still busy gloating at Ino and Sasuke became livid, but didn't say anything.

"Team 7's Sensei will arrive momentarily so if you four could remain seated please" Iruka asked

The 4 nodded and Iruka Continued "Team 8 will be Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka. If you three could go with Asuma here..." he said, Indicating the man with a cigarette in his mouth. Asuma grinned and left the room while his team got up and followed him.

"Team 9 is Maito Gai's team who are still in circulation from last year, So the final team, Team 10, will be Hinata Hyuuga,  
Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka. Your Jounin instructor will be Kurenai here" Iruka finished while pointing to the last Jounin in the room. team 10 got up and left with their instructor.

"Team 7 wait here please" Iruka instructed before smiling at Naruto who shot him a fox-like grin in return before Iruka left the room.

While the team waited, Sakura bounded over to Sasuke and started bugging him to go on a date with her, to which the Uchiha coldly replied "No" and prompltly started Ignoring her, While Naruto was absent-mindedly attacking Gohan's mark while it's owner sat calmly with his eyes shut.

--------------------------------------- 3 hours later ------------------------------

Gohan was, to be frank, one of the most patient people you could find.

But their Jounin Sensei was PUSHING it. BIGTIME.

So when Naruto had decided to prank their sensei for being so late, Gohan had hastily agreed, much to the blonde's delight.

Between them, they had set up a three fold trap. The first stage was a blackboard eraser placed on the top of the slightly open door, which Gohan expected the Jounin to catch.

This lead to the next stage, which was a bucket of water tied to the wall which would drop it's content at the slightest pull of the ninja wire that was coiled around it which Gohan held.

The final phase was to embarass the jounin by dumping used diapers from the nearby kindergarden on him or her who would be shocked after being soaked by the water. This part was Naruto's Idea.

Sasuke and Sakura hadn't done anything to stop them as they both secretly wanted vengence too.

All they had to do now was wait...

Which, astonishingly, wasn't all that long

"Sorry I'm late I-" The jounin with lopsided silver-ish hair began before noticing the incoming eraser and catching it before it hit his head.

"Well," the extermely late Jounin with only one eye showing began "My first impression of you lot is-"

Then Gohan struck. With a discreet tug of the wire, phase two of their revenge was swiftly executed, leaving a very wet and disgruntled lazy juonin in it's wake.

Then Naruto struck, Realeasing the bin of used diapers with a discreet tug on his own wire.

If looks could kill, Gohan had no doubts that both he and Naruto would be dead 20 times over.

Their very wet (and now very smelly) sensei was giving them both a death glare that even Vegeta would have been proud of.

That was until the jounin's glaring eye suddenly curved into an eye-smile

"Well done" the jounin praised "Not many people can catch me by suprise like that. My First impression of you remains the same, however. You're impatient. Now, wait on the roof while I go get changed."

"You'd better not take 3 hours again or you can expect the same!" Naruto vowed while the other 3 nodded in agreement before heading to the roof as they were told.

----------------------------- 5 minutes later -----------------------------

"Now then you four," The now dry and deoderised jounin began "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves?" he asked

"What sort of things should we say?" Sakura asked in return

"Alright then, I'll go first" The jounin began "My name is Kakashi Hatake, I have many likes and dislikes as well as many hobbies. My dream for the future... is none of your concern" Kakashi concluded

The four graduates were annoyed that the only thing they had learned was their sensei's name.

"You first, pinky" Kakashi ordered.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes are, well..." At this she looked at Sasuke at blushed "my dislikes are those two over there" she added, indicating Gohan and Naruto "I don't have many hobbies. My dream for the future..." she once again looked at Sasuke and blushed

'She's more concerned about getting a date than becoming a shinobi' Kakashi thought

"Now for Mr. Brooder there" Kakashi asked moving his one-eyed gaze to Sasuke

"Sasuke Uchiha" The brooder replied "I Dislike most things. My only hobby is becoming stronger. My dream is more of an ambition. I plan to restore my clan and kill a certain man..." the Uchiha ended cryptically

'I thoght so' Kakashi mentally deadpanned before passing his gaze over a practically swooning Sakura before settling his eye on his remaining two students.

"Now for the two lookalikes" He said "Let's start with you, blondie"

"The Name's Naruto Uzumaki!" The blonde yelled "I like Ramen and training with my best buddy Gohan here. I dislike the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook. My dream is to become Hokage so that everyone will look up to me one day." He finished, with a sad look in his eyes

'He's grown up in an interesting way' Kakashi mused 'now for the mystery kid' he then turned his gaze to the last of his students

"Now you, Mr. tatoo" Kakashi ordered. Gohan merely nodded

"My name is Gohan Son. I like training with Naruto and I enjoy ramen as well. My dislikes are people who blame others for things they couldn't control. My dream is to protect the ones who are closest to me and to prevent my past mistakes from happening again. I will even lay down my own life for my friends to make sure of it." He said with a determined glint in his eyes.

'Well,' Kakashi thought 'He's obviously been through some kind of ordeal that he dosn't want anyone else to experience, I can respect that'

The other three Graduates looked at Gohan with varying degrees of shock or awe at his vow

"Alright," Kakashi said, getting everyone's attention "meet me at training ground 12 tomorrow morining at 7o'clock sharp,  
we'll be doing some survival training." he then walked to the edge of the roof "oh," Kakashi added "make sure you don't have any breakfast, I don't want you throwing up after all..." and with that he dissapeared in a cloud of shinobi smoke.

"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted "NO BREAKFAST?! HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO THE TRAINING THEN?!"

Gohan silently agreed, but sought to reassure his blonde friend "Don't worry, Naruto. I've done more than my fair share of survival training, and that was when I was four. With me here, we'll be fine." He said to his teammates before realising he had said something about his past to not only Naruto, but the other two as well as he saw his team's eyes go wide in suprise.

"Wh-what?" Naruto stuttered "you did survival training when you were four?"

Gohan inwardly cursed his stupidity, but, seeing no need to hide the rest from them, continued "Yeah, for six months on my own in the wilderness." he explained "It was tough at first but my sensei kept an eye on me from afar until I could cope" He quickly turned to Naruto "We should get going, we need to have a good meal before tomorrow" he said and left for the stairs,  
an astonished blonde hot on his heels.

After they left, Sakura turned to Sasuke and said "He was probably lying, wasn't he Sasuke?, I mean, no four year old could survive by himself in the wild, right?"

"He wasn't lying" Sasuke replied "you could see it in his eyes if you had been paying attention" he then skulked off to who knows where to brood more

"He wasn't?" Sakura repeated before heading home as well

-------------------------- the next day - training ground 12: 9:55 a.m. ---------------------------------

"Yo!" The once again late Jounin greeted "A black cat crossed my path so I had to go around it and then I met this old lady who was having trouble with her shopping so-"

"Why don't you just tell us the truth, Kakashi-sensei?" Gohan asked "I know where you were" He added, refering to sensing his presence at the memorial stone until now.

"I don't know what your talking about" Kakashi replied cheerfully, his eye in his version of a smile "Now for your test" he stated

"What test?" Naruto asked with his squinty face on "You said this was survival training!"

"It's both" Kakashi said simply "the test is to survive against me" he explained while holding 3 silver bells with red string which he then tied to his jacket "your goal is to get these bells from me before noon. If you can't..." He then gestured to four wooden posts sticking out of the ground "You'll be tied to one of these posts and will go without lunch and be forced to watch as I eat it in front of you!"

'THAT'S why he told us not to have breakfast!' was the collective thought of the team

"Hold up a minute" Sakura interrupted "We've already graduated, so what's this test for?"

"The graduation exam was simply to find the top runners for this test" Kakashi explained "This is your REAL Genin exam"

"Fine, lets get this over with" the previously silent Uchiha remarked

"Alright then" Kakashi said as the four kids dissapeared 'At least they've hidden' "Lets begin!" he suddenly felt a presence behind him and saw Naruto with his sword drawn, the tip pointed towards the jounin

"You and me, right now, Fair and square!" the blonde exclaimed

Kakashi heard a slapping sound and had the disinct impression that someone had just facepalmed.

"You know, compared to the others, your a little... weird" Kakashi said with a sweatdrop forming.  
----------------------------------------------- end chapter --------------------------------------------------

A/N: That it for this chapter, but 6 should be up soon!

Read and REVIEW plz! 


	6. Chapter 6: The Bell Test

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: Chapter 6 is here! Special thanks to all who reviewed and thank you, Tobi, for pointing out that little mistake with teams 8 and 10... i'm so ashamed at that so they'll be swaped around again as of now. Also, a special thanks to everyone who has read the story.

As I said last chapter, Gohan's new jutsu will appear this time!

Anyway, lets get on with the story.

--------------------- PREVIOUSLY --------------------------------------

"The graduation exam was simply to find the top runners for this test" Kakashi explained "This is your REAL Genin exam"

"Fine, lets get this over with" the previously silent Uchiha remarked

"Alright then" Kakashi said as the four kids dissapeared 'At least they've hidden' "Lets begin!" he suddenly felt a presence behind him and saw Naruto with his sword drawn, the tip pointed towards the jounin

"You and me, right now, Fair and square!" the blonde exclaimed

Kakashi heard a slapping sound and had the disinct impression that someone had just facepalmed.

"You know, compared to the others, your a little... weird" Kakashi said with a sweatdrop forming.

------------------------------ Chapter 6: The Bell Test ---------------------------------

The now annoyed blonde charged in and Kakashi was forced to dodge the deadly blade

'He's better than I thoght' Kakashi mused before noticing the symbol on Naruto's gi 'So, that Gohan's been teaching him'

He was forced to pull a quick substitution Jutsu as Naruto's sword almost embedded itself into his shoulder.

Naruto was further annoyed at his sword hitting a stone and creating a metallic 'clang'

"Not Bad, Naruto," Kakashi's voice came ominously from directly behind him "But you should never-"

"Let your opponent get behind you, Right, Kakashi-sensei?" came a new voice

Kakashi was incredibly suprised when he felt the cool edge of a metal blade against his throat

'I didn't even feel his presence until he spoke' Kakashi thought, astonished

Gohan Now stood behind Kakashi, who was crouched down behind Naruto, with the edge of his sword resting lightly against the Jounin's throat.

'He's incredible for someone his age!' Kakashi mused 'He managed to turn Naruto's stupidity into an advantage to corner me!'

"Good work, Gohan." The Jounin spoke "But give me some credit, I have a lot more experience than you." and with that he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Naruto, thanks for distracting him for me, but go find somewhere to hide for now." Gohan gently ordrered. Naruto was about to protest but decided to follow the older boy's command and nodded before heading into the bushes almost instantly.

'Where is he?' Gohan thought, trying to get a fix on Kakashi's position by extending his senses.

'BELOW!' he exclaimed in his mind as he located the Jounin hiding underground. He used his ki to strengthen his blow as he punched the ground. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the ground started to shake with the force of the blow and the ground began to crack and rise. Gohan looked up from his view of the ground beneath him and found his target.

There was Kakashi, His eye wide in disbelief as he saw Gohan give a Naruto-like grin at him

'Such inhuman strength! He's just like Tsunade, if not, worse!' Kakashi was visibly trembling as he thought this 'I can't face him in taijutsu as he's obviously had extensive training in it, so...'

"I must say, Gohan, I'm impressed." Kakashi eventualy said "But your current stance has left you wide open!" Kakashi threw a handful of shuriken at Gohan as he said this.

Still with a grin on his face, Gohan made a few quick handseals

"Water style: Water armor jutsu"

As Gohan said this, water started to rise and formed an outline around him (A/N: if you're having trouble picturing this,  
think of Naruto using the fox's cloak, just without the tails and ears and is blue instead of red)

'What the-' Kakashi thought 'I've never seen THAT jutsu before'

The shurkiken passed into the water and simply floated there, harmlessly.

"Gohan," Kakashi began "Where did you learn that technique?" he asked

Gohan released his jutsu and the shuriken fell to the floor. "I created it myself" The onyx haired boy replied

'He CREATED it?' the dumbstruck Jounin mentally repeated 'he really IS like Itachi'

"I see," Kakashi responded "That's very impressive for someone of your age group, but you could have simply avoided my attack"

"I could have," Gohan agreed "But it's better to show your team what you're capable of, is it not?"

Kakashi nodded in approval but noticed the water on the ground start to rise into small droplets

"And..." Gohan said "Here's another one" He went through several more handseals

"Water style: water shotgun jutsu"

The droplets then shot at the startled Kakashi like bullets. The jounin barely had time to jump out of the way in time and the water droplets hit the ground where he once stood, creating holes in the ground.

Kakashi was shocked to say the least but quickly regained his footing and disappeared underground again.

Gohan was contemplating a tactical withdrawal to regroup with the others when he suddenly felt Kakashi's ki beneath him.

Before he could escape, however, Kakashi's hand burst out of the ground and grabbed his ankle with suprising force

"Earth style: Headhunter jutsu!" Kakashi's sightly muffled voice said

Gohan suddenly found himself trapped with all but his head underground while Kakashi was standing in front of him.

"An exellent display of skill, Gohan." Kakashi praised "But, as I said before, I have more experience than you do"

Gohan gave him a small smirk and vanished into a puddle of water

'A water clone?' Kakashi blinked, suprised, 'I'm starting to like this kid'

---------------------------------- With the four Graduates -----------------------------------

"How come you never showed me those jutsu?" Naruto accused while pointing at Gohan, his finger dangerously close to the boy's mark

"I was saving them for a situation where they were needed" Gohan explained "but that doesn't matter right now, we need to come up with a plan"

"What do you suggest?" Sasuke asked, Looking towards Gohan

"Sasuke," Sakura whined "You could come up with a better plan than Gohan could any day"

"HEY!" a now angered Naruto yelled "In case you forgot Sakura, Gohan beat Sasuke in every part of the exam, even the strategy assaignment!"

"He's right, Sakura." The Uchiha recluctantly agreed "Gohan's stronger than I am, for now, and is a better strategist too.  
Currently, he's the leader of our group." The Uchiha now looked back to Gohan "So what's your plan?" he asked again

The newly appointed 'leader' of the team nodded at Sasuke before turning to the others, who did the same.

"Alright, here's what we'll do..."

--------------------------------- With Kakashi - 11:50 a.m. ---------------------------------------------

'It's almost noon,' The jounin thought 'what are they waiting for?'

As if on cue, Naruto and Sasuke burst out from the foliage behind him, each grabbing for the bells

"Nice try." Kakashi said before grabbing the pairs arms and flinging them in opposite directions

As he was being thrown, Sasuke was flying through several handseals

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" The airbourne Uchiha yelled, aiming at Kakashi, who was forced to dodge.

Then Sakura made a grab for the bells, appearing out of the forest just as Kakashi landed, forcing the Jounin to jump away once again.

However, Kakashi soon realised his mistake when he heard a voice come from behind him

"Water style: Water shotgun jutsu!"

Kakashi looked over his shoulder to see Gohan, who was also airbourne, and several droplets of water surrounding him before they launched themselves at the silver haired jounin at an incredibly fast pace.

Kakashi managed to evade most of the projectiles by twisting in the air, but one managed to hit tearing through the jounin's left leg at the edge, leaving a u shaped hole.

With a quick "Damn", Kakashi landed before applying more weight to his right leg than his left, before noticing Naruto charging at him with his sword drawn. Kakashi was forced to dodge again but failed to notice he wasn't the target and saw the bells fall to the ground, where they were picked up by Sakura, who tossed one to both Naruto and Sasuke, who were the closest

"Kakashi-sensei, looks loke we win!" Naruto said with a grin holding his bell in front of him

"Yes, you do." Kakashi replied "However, Gohan is still without a bell, so he will be tied to a post and go without lunch and if any of you three share yours with him, you'll all be dropped from the programme. You'll never become shinobi."

He grinned at their shocked faces

---------------------------- 5 minutes later ----------------------------

Team 7 sat with their lunch, except for Gohan, who was tied to one of the four posts

"I need to take care of a few things" Kakashi suddenly said "Most notably my leg" he indicated to his now bandaged left leg "I'll be back in a bit" Kakashi finished with an eye-smile and vanished into a cloud of shinobi smoke

Naruto then turned to Gohan and held out his lunch to Gohan "Here, quick while Kakashi-sensei's gone"

"No, Naruto" Gohan responded "If you give me your lunch you'll kick Sasuke and Sakura off the programme as well as yourself,  
don't give up your dream for me," Gohan Continued, sadly "I'm not worth it..."

Naruto was about to respond when Sakura beat him to the punch, holding out her lunch as well

"But it was your plan that allowed us to suceed," She said "If it wasn't for you, we'd all be tied to those posts right now"

To everyone's suprise, Sasuke also held out his lunch "Here" he said

Gohan was stunned but shook his head stubbornly "I already told you I'm no-"

Gohan suddenly found his mouth full of food and saw a smug looking Naruto

"There, now shut up and I'll feed you before Kakashi-sensei gets back"

Gohan wanted to refuse, but the temptation of food was too great for the half saiyan so he chewed and swallowed what he had in his mouth before obediently opening it again.

Naruto flashed a grin before proceeding to feed the hybrid his lunch

Kakashi then re-appeared suddenly with his eye smile still in place, startling the four

"Congratulations, you pass!"

The four new Genin sat staring at their sensei for a moment, blinking stupidly.

"WHAT!!!!!!!!!!" the four screamed simultaniously

Kakashi still eye-smiled "This was a test of your teamwork" he explained "You worked together superbly to get the bells and Gohan was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the mission, but what allowed you to pass is that you three were willing to sacrifice the mission for him" Kakashi continued before hus eye gave them a serious glance "Those who ababdon the mission are scum. But those who abandon their comarades are worse than scum. Remember that." He finished while turning to walk away from them "Team 7's first real mission will be tomorrow morning at 8, meet me at the cenrtal bridge then" He said before vanishing again, leaving four very confused Genin behind

----------------------- At the Hokage tower -----------------

"Teams 1 through 6 have failed" Sarutobi said gravely before looking to the last three Jounin in the room "Please tell me you have good news"

"Team 8, Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka pass" Kurenai said with a grin on her face

"Team 10, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi also pass" Asuma replied, while lighting a cigarette

"Very well," The Hokage said "At least we have two new squads, seeing as Kakashi has most likely failed his again"

"Team 7, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Gohan Son..." Kakashi reported with a serious face

'Fail' was the continuation the other three in the room surmised

"Pass!" Kakashi exclaimed with an eye smile

THUMP.

The other three in the room passed out with shock.

"Was it something I said?" Kakashi asked, confused

------------------------------- Chapter end ------------------------------------

A/N: What'd ya think? Chapter 7 up soon!

Read and review please! 


	7. Chapter 7: Secrets Revealed

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: Welcome, one and all to the belated chapter 7! sorry it's taken so long compared to my usual updates. Anyway, special thanks to TobiGB and a warm welcome to Derra and Prats 'R' Us! again, a special thanks to all who have read and, just so you know, this story has had over 1000 hits!!! I know it's not all that much when you think about it, but considering this is my 1st story, I can't help but feel a little proud of this.

Now, On with the story!

--------------------- previously --------------------------------

"Teams 1 through 6 have failed" Sarutobi said gravely before looking to the last three Jounin in the room "Please tell me you have good news"

"Team 8, Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka pass" Kurenai said with a grin on her face

"Team 10, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi also pass" Asuma replied, while lighting a cigarette

"Very well," The Hokage said "At least we have two new squads, seeing as Kakashi has most likely failed his again"

"Team 7, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Gohan Son..." Kakashi reported with a serious face

'Fail' was the continuation the other three in the room surmised

"Pass!" Kakashi exclaimed with an eye smile

THUMP.

The other three in the room passed out with shock.

"Was it something I said?" Kakashi asked, confused

------------------------------- Chapter 7: Secrets revealed --------------------------------------

-------------------------------- two weeks later -----------------------------------

Once again, Kakashi was late.

When the lazy Jounin finally arrived, he was greeted by a VERY annoyed group of Genin.

"YOUR LATE!" Sakura yelled, causing Gohan to flinch a little at the volume

"Well, you see, I got lost on the road of life" Kakashi explained, poorly

"THAT'S NOT EVEN AN EXCUSE!" the infuriated girl retorted

"Never mind that, Sakura." Gohan spoke up "Kakashi-sensei's here now so there isn't really any point in complaining"

"Yeah," Naruto concurred "Besides, he isn't as late as he was yesterday"

Sasuke said nothing.

"Alright," Kakashi began "Now I'll brief you on your mission"

------------------------- 2 hours later ---------------------------

"Alright, This is Kakashi, Situation report"

"Sakura here, I'm at point A, The target is approximately 20 metres from my position"

"Sasuke, at point B, target is 15 metres from me"

"Gohan reporting, I'm at point C and the target's 10 meters south of my position. Ready to move in at your command"

"Naruto here, I have a visual on the target, this is it."

"Very well. move NOW"

With that said, the four Genin sprang into action

"This is Gohan, I have the target cornered, preparing to move in."

However, before he could, a certain blonde friend of his jumped down from above and onto the target.

"Gotcha!" Naruto exclaimed before the target started fighting back

"Kakashi, this is Gohan, Target secured" The onyx haired boy reported

"Exellent work" came Kakashi's reply over the radio "Sakura, Sasuke and I will rondevous with you shortly"

"Understood" Gohan replied with a sweatdrop forming as he stared at the scene in front of him

"OW, GET OFF ME, OW, GOHAN, HELP!" His blonde friend shouted while attempting to fend off the target.

Gohan sighed and calmly walked over to the scuffle and quickly subdued the target

"Damn animal..." Naruto muttered while glaring daggers at the cat

"You just have to know where to pick them up" Gohan explained "Cats go limp when you grab the scruff of their neck, same goes for the larger ones too"

The rest of team 7 arrived and Kakashi noticed the scratch marks on Naruto's face

"Don't tell me you had problems catching one cat, Naruto" he teased

"That's no cat," Naruto retorted "It's a demon in disguise"

Gohan silently agreed at that

"Alright, Good job everyone" Kakashi praised "Let's head back to the tower"

---------------------------------- At the Hokage Tower -------------------------------

"TORA! OH MY SWEETIE!"

The entirety of the room except the histeric woman had an eye twitch at the scene in front of them

"Poor thing," Gohan muttered to the blonde beside him "No wonder it ran off"

"The thing deserves it" Naruto smugly replied trying not to laugh at the cat as it got crushed by the woman

"Thank you for your assistance Mr. Sarutobi" the woman replied "Here's your fee" She said, handing over a sum of notes over to the Hokage before walking out of the room with a very fed up cat in her arms

The Hokage then looked over at team 7

"Exellent work," Sarutobi praised "now let's see what other missions are available." At this he turned to Iruka who then opened a large scroll and was about to state the next mission on the list but was interupted

"I'm sick of these missions, old man!" Naruto exclaimed "give us something else!"

"I agree." Gohan interjected before anyone could shout at his blonde friend "These missions are taking up valuable time which I could be using to train. The past two weeks have only slowed down our progress."

"Enough" The Hokage ordered "These missions are perfect for new teams of Genin, they help improve your teamwork" he explained

"Actually," Kakashi began "I also think that my team is ready for a tougher mission"

"You can't be serious, Kakashi!" Iruka argued "They've only been a team for two weeks, you can't expect them to have good enough teamwork for a C-rank yet!"

"Iruka," Kakashi replied "If they din't have that level of teamwork, I wouldn't have passed them in the first place."

"Very well," Sarutobi said "If you think your team is ready, Kakashi, then I have just the mission for you" he then turned to one of his aides "Please escort Tazuna in" he ordered. the aide nodded and left the Room and re-appeared with an old man who had a sake bottle in his hand

"This is Tazuna, your client for this mission" The Hokage explained "The mission is to escort him back to his home town in the Land of Waves. This is a C-ranked mission so you may encounter resistance"

"Hold on a minute," Tazuna started "Your sending a group of children to ensure my safety?!"

Gohan became suprisingly angry at this attack on his pride

"If it wasn't against shinobi code to harm the client for the mission, I'd make you eat those words" He said while his hand started to inch closer to the hilt of his sword while the blonde next to him nodded in agreement and followed Gohan's movements.

"Calm down you two," Kakashi intervened, placing a hand on the pairs shoulders "Don't worry, Tazuna, I'm a jounin so I can protect you against almost anything." Kakashi continued wile keeping his eye on Gohan 'I've never seen him get angry before'  
Kakashi thought 'he's usually incredibly calm, whats up with him?'

Kakashi's statement seemed to placate Tazuna who became silent

"If everything is settled," Sarutobi began "Then you will leave at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning"

Team 7 nodded and left, leaving Tazuna in the office

------------------------ outside the tower ---------------------------

"So, the demon brat wants tougher missions, huh?, well I'll tell him of a way he can get them. You messed up my plans before,  
but this time I'll get you"

------------------------------------------ with team 7 ----------------------------------------

"Gohan, what the hell happened back there?" Kakashi asked "I've never seen you angry before and I want to know why you are now"

"It's none of your concern, Kakashi-sensei" Gohan replied while giving the lazy Jounin a withering glare

"It is when one of my charges seems to have had an attitude change overnight" Kakashi argued while standing in front of Gohan

"Move it" Gohan ordered harshly but Kakashi remained where he was

The remainder of the team looked on worriedly as Gohan's fist clenched

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong" Kakashi stubbornly replied.

The next thing the jounin knew, he was slumped against a wall, strugling to get his breath back

The rest of the team had varying looks of shock

Gohan had just punched Kakashi in the stomach with enough force to send him flying and slammed against a wall.

Gohan then started to walk off

"Gohan!" Naruto yelled while running after him "Wait up! damn not again..."

The other two ran over to Kakashi, who was pulling himself back up

"Man, that was one hell of a punch" The Jounin groaned

"Are you alright, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked with a concerned look on her face

"I'll be fine, Sakura" Kakashi replied "It's Gohan I'm worried about. What's Gotten into him?"

"He had days like this back at the academy aswell" Sasuke explained "Only Naruto is safe to be around him like this"

"Hmmm" Kakashi mumbled, thoughtfully "We'll ask him tomorrow when he's calmed down a bit"

----------------------------------------- With Gohan and Naruto ------------------------------------

"Gohan, are you okay?" Naruto asked

"I'll be fine, Naruto, I always am" the hybrid answered

"Yeah, your right" Naruto said before he noticed someone waving at them "Mizuki-sensei!"

"Hello Naruto, Gohan" Mizuki greeted "follow me for a sec, there's something I need to tell you"

The pair nodded and followed Mizuki to a nearby alleyway

"I understand you are after more challenging missions" The academy teacher stated and recieved nods from the two Genin "What if I told you there was a way to become chunin without taking the exam?"

This peaked their interest

"Please, tell us" Naruto begged

Mizuki smiled "Alright, in the Hokage's tower there's a special scroll called the scroll of sealing. It contains a vast number of high level jutsu. If you can Master one of these jutsu, you can become a chunin and take on B-rank missions"

"Really?" Naruto asked

"Yes, now here's what you need to do. This will be a test of your stealth skills. You need to break into the tower, find the scroll and steal it. Then take it to the forest and learn one of the jutsu. Also, you need to do it tonight." Mizuki explained

"Naruto," Gohan began "I can't tonight so you'll have to do it yourself"

The blonde nodded and they raced off towards Naruto's appartment

"Perfect" Mizuki grinned

----------------------------------- That night ----------------------------------------

'Naruto's been gone a while now,' Gohan thought while keeping his senses open and noticing two more energy signatures moving towards the blonde 'That can't be good' Gohan then raced off to Naruto's location

--------------------------------------------- With Naruto and the other two -------------------------------------------

"Mizuki, No!" Iruka pleaded

"Your in no position to make demands, Iruka." Mizuki sneered "Naruto, Do you want to know why everyone in the villiage hates you? I'll tell you why. Twelve years ago, The viliage came under attack from The Kyuubi, The nine tailed fox. In order to save the viliage from utter destruction, the Forth Hokage sealed the demon inside a newborn baby"

"Stop, Mizuki, It's forbidden!" Iruka yelled while Naruto was putting the pieces together in his head and came to a shocking conclusion

"No..." the blonde said

"Yes," Mizuki continued "The baby the fourth sealed the fox into was you. You are the Kyuubi. You are the demon that nearly destroyed the viliage all those years ago. And for that reason, I must Kill you!" he threw a massive shuriken at Naruto, who was still too shocked to move. Iruka moved to intervene, but was too far away to stop the weapon

"NARUTO!!!" Iruka screamed in despair

The Weapon closed in on Naruto and was only feet away from him as it closed in

'Clang'

The Massive Shuriken fell to the ground after hitting an unexpected obstacle

"G-Gohan" Naruto stuttered "Why-"

"Because your my friend." Gohan explained while sheathing his sword and turning to face the blonde "Your like the little brother I never had and I'll be damned if I were to allow you to be killed"

"B-brother?" Naruto asked and recieved a nod from the onyx haired boy Who then turned to Mizuki and snarled, his eyes turning a red colour as he started giving off a huge wave of killing intent

"And you," He growled at the now terrified Mizuki "Picked the wrong day to piss me off"

He charged the traitorous chunin and kicked him in the face, sending Mizuki flying into a tree.

Gohan then appeared in front of Mizuki and delivered a vicious uppercut which sent the traitor flying into the air. As Mizuki reached the peak of his ascent, Gohan phased into existance behind him and drove a double fist into the chunin's stomach,  
causing him to spit up blood and hurtle back to the ground.

Before the impact, however, Gohan appeared again and kicked Mizuki sending the winded academy teacher in another direction,  
before suddenly appearing again and driving a foot into the chunin's back and driving him into the ground.

Naruto and Iruka were stunned to say the least

Gohan then appeared in front of Naruto, his still red eyes searching for any injuries

But before he could ask if the other was alright, the full moon appeared from behind a cloud

Gohan's entire body pulsed as he fell to his hands and knees as a searing pain engulfed his being

"N-Naruto," Iruka atuttered "What's happening to him?"

"I-I don't know" The whiskered blonde replied

Gohan screamed and there was an odd ripping sound. Naruto and Iruka looked at Gohan and were shocked at what they saw.

Sticking out from behind Gohan was a tail.

At this, alarm bells were ringing out in Iruka's head. However, before he could grab Naruto and run, Gohan stood up, panting.

The two humans looked at Gohan with shock as they noticed he now had large fangs as he spoke

"It seems that the moon isn't reflecting enough Blutz waves, that's good..." He said to himself before noticing the looks he was recieving from the other two "I guess I have a lot to explain, huh" He said while Naruto and Iruka nodded at him, dumbly.

Gohan sighed and began

"I guess I should start by telling you that I'm not completely human. I'm a hybrid of human and Saiyan liniage"

"What's a 'Saiyan'?" Naruto asked with his squinty face

"Saiyans are a race of warriors from the planet Vegeta" Gohan explained "we are the ultimate biological weapon, we get stronger after every battle and our power doubles after a near death experience. Though I'm the last of my kind" He explained while lying at the end

"So, your an alien?!" Naruto exclaimed

"Half alien but yes" Gohan corrected

"So, the tail..." Iruka concluded

"Is part of being Saiyan, yes" Gohan finished

"What about your eyes and teeth?" Naruto asked

"Well, that also has something to do with the tail." Gohan explained "You see, Usually, a Saiyan will transform at the full moon when they have a tail. The tail will detect the blutz waves caused by the reflection of the sun's rays from the moon's surface and when the blutz waves are numerous enough, triggers a transformation into an Oozaru, a huge ape-like creature."

"So, why haven't you transformed yet?" Iruka asked

"That, I don't know, but my guess would be that the moon can't reflect enough blutz waves" As Gohan said this, Naruto was making his way over to the hybrid and grabbed the swishing tail.

Gohan tensed and then fell to the ground, limp.

"Oops" Naruto said while letting go of the tail quickly

"Unfortunately, the tail of a Saiyan is also his weak spot" Gohan continued while sending Naruto a 'don't do that again' look "The tail is extremely sensitive"

"Shouldn't you get it removed again then?" Iruka asked

"Not unless you want to help me learn how to walk again" Gohan replied "It took me three weeks before and I have a mission tomorrow"

Iruka Nodded and Naruto suddenly became depressed as he remembered what he was told by Mizuki

"Iruka-sensei, Gohan," The blonde began "Am I really the Kyuubi?"

"No your not, Naruto" Iruka replied "You are it's jailer. You keep it from reaping untold destruction on the world" he continued.

Naruto brightened up at this

"You two get going" Iruka ordered "I need to get Mizuki to the Hospital. Hopefully, Ibiki will get some answers out of him"

The two Genin nodded and started back towards Naruto's appartment while Iruka went in the direction of the unconcious Mizuki.

"I'm sorry," Gohan said "For not telling you about me before. I'll understand if you want me to move out"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked "I don't want you to move out, why would you think that?"

"Because of what I am" Gohan continued "The last in line of a race of vicious, bloodthirsty planet purgers"

"Look who your talking to" Naruto argued "Evil, destructive demon somwhere in here, remember?"

"I guess your right" Gohan gave in

"I'm always right!" The blonde exclaimed and Gohan chuckled

"I don't know about 'always'" the hybrid teased

"Hey! I find that offensive!" The blonde replied

Gohan Laughed for the first time in ages and Naruto started not long after he did

After a few minutes of laughter, Gohan turned to Naruto

"C'mon squirt, we've got a mission tomorrow" He said while ruffling Naruto's hair

"I'm not a squirt..." Naruto mumbled

"As long as your MY little brother you are" Gohan argued causing the blonde to flush red in embarrasment "Now let's go, It's passed somebody's bedtime"

They walked off with an annoyed blonde muttering something about 'stupid big brothers'

----------------------------------------- end chapter --------------------------------------------

A/N: Phew! Longest chapter so far I think!

Anyway don't forget to read and review! 


	8. Chapter 8: The Mission To Wave

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: Welcome to chapter 8! Sorry it took so long, but I had to think over the plotline I had originally planned and changed it a little. I have something very special planned for the future!

Special thanks to TobiGB, Supreme Tempest, otogii and Prats 'R' Us for reviewing and a warm welcome to my big brother, Kawazoe!

Also, I'm delighted to say the story has passed the 2000 hits mark WOOT!

Anyway, lets continue...

------------------------------ Previously -----------------------------------------------

I'll give you a quick runthrough this time.

1. Teaam 7 catches the pesky cat, Tora 2. Gohan gets mad at Kakashi 3. Mizuki executes his plan, but gets beaten up by an enraged Gohan 4. Gohan's tail regrew and he explaines his heritage to Naruto and Iruka

now onto chapter 8!

--------------------------------- Chapter 8: The Mission To Wave ---------------------------------------

----------- The Next morning ---------------

"Gohan, Hurry up we need to meet the others at the Gate soon!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Geez, you don't have to shout"

As Gohan Headed out of the door, he saw his blonde friend waiting impatiently

"Took you long enough, I thought I'd have to go in there and drag you out!" Naruto exclaimed

"Well, considering I was packing for the both of us-"

"Hey, I was only teasing" Naruto chuckled "Hey, your teeth are still long!" The blonde noticed

The tailed boy walked over to a nearby mirror and found that Naruto was right. His canines were still longer than they were before his tail had grown back

"How am I going to explain this to the others?" The half saiyan asked

"Eh, who cares?" Naruto replied "If they don't understand, you can always punch them into a wall" he suggested, refering to the incident with Kakashi the previous day

Gohan laughed "Maybe so, but with the tail and all..."

"Cross that bridge when you get to it" Naruto reasoned

"Hey!" Gohan exclaimed "That's MY advice!"

"Well, it's mine now!" The blonde reorted

Gohan walked over to Naruto and ruffled his hair affectionately "Let's get going Squirt" he said before racing off in the direction of the gate

Said 'squirt' went red with embarrasment and mumbled "Not a squirt" Before grabbing the nearby bags and racing after the hybrid however, it did not take long to catch up with him.

Gohan was standing in the centre of a mass of enraged villiagers

"So, The Demon brat's saviour, huh?" One of the viliagers in the central ring, most likely the leader of the mob, asked

"If you are refering to Naruto, then yes, I am" Was Gohan's calm reply

"Look what he's done to you" The man continued "He's tranforming you into a demon like himself!"

"Naruto isn't a Demon" Gohan replied, his eyes narrowing "And what I've become has nothing to do with him"

"So, You were already a Demon, were you? Sent to look after the Brat, I guess"

"Gohan!" Naruto shouted

"There's the brat, let's show his saviour how we deal with demons in this viliage!" At this, several of the mob charged the panic stricken Naruto

However, before they could reach the Blonde, a once again red eyed Gohan phased into existance in front of him

"Take one more step and it might just be your last" He snarled, drawing his sword and taking a defensive stance while his tail swung dangerously behind him

"He really is another one!" One of the men shouted "Lets get him first!" The men who charged drew Knives, Their intent clear.

They Charged forward, Only to find someone else in their way

"What possible reason could you have for attacking two of my students?" A certain lazy Jounin asked the men, who faltered in their charge

"Their both Demons! Just look at them!" the leader yelled

"All I see is two young boys who have been pushed into a corner by a mob of deluded maniacs" Kakashi replied with an eye smile

"You call us maniacs, But one of the brats behind you took away the fourth Hokage, Your Sensei! How can you side with them?!"

"What i'm about to say is usually forbidden, but-"

"Kakashi-sensei" Naruto interrupted from behind a still snarling Gohan "It's okay, we already know"

"In that case," Kakashi Began "The Kyuubi did take Minato-sensei from us, However Naruto has done nothing to me" He explained

As this was going on, Gohan sensed one of the viliagers sneaking up on Naruto from behind them

As the mobster charged, Gohan pounced, Driving a fist into the man's stomach and following with an extremely vicious roundhouse kick, sending the man into a nearby building and out the other side.

"Coward" Gohan spat "attacking someone when their back is turned"

Seeing this the mob dispersed, leaving only the men that had charged behind

"I suggest you leave" Kakashi warned "Otherwise I won't stop Gohan when he attacks you"

The six remaining men ignored the warning and charged at Gohan.

"By order of the Hokage, you are under arrest" Came a new voice

The mob looked up at the voice and saw three more people had arrived.

Shikaku Nara, Chouju Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka stood atop the building one of the mob had been kicked through.

The men tried to resist, but found that they were unable to move

"Shadow possesion Jutsu, sucessful" a voice stated from another location

Everyone looked and saw Shikamaru holding the men with his jutsu

"Nicely done my boy!" Shikaku praised as he and his former teammates arrested the men

Shikamaru simply yawned and mumbled "What a drag..."

However, before anyone knew what had happened, one of the men was staring down a blade held by a still enraged Gohan.

The Blade stopped just before it would have reached the man's chest.

"Shadow possesion complete" A Highly strained Shikaku stated 'Man this kid's tough to hold' he thought

Naruto and Kakashi rushed over to Gohan, worry on both their faces

"Gohan, It's alright" Kakashi said "Calm down"

Gohan locked a red eye with Kakashi and released a massive wave of killing intent that brought almost everyone to their knees

Naruto placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder and gently squeezed

"They can't hurt me any more" He assured and Gohan visibly relaxed, no longer stuggling against the jutsu that Shikaku had on him.

Shikaku released the hold with a long sigh "That's one troublesome kid you got there Kakashi" he said before looking at his old team members "Let's get these people to Ibiki." he ordered and they left, leaving The three team 7 members and Shikamaru behind.

"What the hell just happened?" The confused Nara asked

"It was my Saiyan instincts" The hybrid answered "Because of my tail their strengh has multiplied tenfold"

"What do you mean by insincts, Gohan?" Kakashi inquired, Knowing what a Saiyan was after being briefed by Sarutobi late last night after the Hokage had been informed by Iruka

"Saiyans are a lot more primal than Humans" Gohan explained "One of the basic Saiyan insincts is to protect your family at any cost and seeing as how I consider Naruto as my Brother-"

"The insinct told you to protect me from those people" Naruto finished

"Right." Gohan continued "And seeing as I'm the oldest in this family, my Insticts tell me I'm the head of it, which strenghens it. With the tail as well-"

"Your instinct to protect Naruto was impossible to control" Kakashi finished and Gohan nodded in Confirmation.

"Hold on a minute," Shikamaru intervened "I sort of get it but what is a 'Saiyan'?"

"A race of now almost extinct people who lived very far from here in seclusion" Kakashi lied, but it seemed to satisfy the Nara's curiosity as he nodded in understanding. Kakashi looked to his charges "We have a mission today, so you will have to see the Hokage about this when we get back" Gohan and Naruto nodded and Kakashi turned to Shikamaru "You, however need to go and see the Hokage now"

Shikamaru looked at Kakashi and Gave a rather large yawn before walking off and mumbling "What a drag" to himself

"Let's go" Kakashi ordered and the two Genin nodded and followed him.

---------------------------------------- at the gate: 5 minutes later -------------------------------------

"Well it seems everyone is already here waiting for us" Kakashi exclaimed with an eye smile directed at Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna

"Let's get going then" The Uchiha said while walking off

"Sasuke, wait for me!" Sakura shouted and ran after him

"I can't believe I ended up with a group of kids to take me home." Tazuna sighed

Gohan stiffened at this but forced himself to remain calm with great difficulty

"Tazuna," Kakashi adressed "If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate this team"

Tazuna gave a disbelieving 'humph' and walked away with Kakashi following closely afterwards

"Hey, Gohan" Naruto began "How come they didn't ask about your tail?"

"It's because it's now around my waist" Gohan explained while gesturing to his waist where the tail looked like a furry belt

"Oh, fair enough." Naruto replied "About earlier though, I want to say thanks"

"For what?" Gohan asked

"For y'know, protecting me. No one else has really done that before" Naruto replied with a sheepish smile on his face

"What Big brother doesn't look out for his younger sibling? C'mon squirt we're falling behind" Gohan explained while ruffling Naruto's hair again Which caused the blonde's face to turn red once more

"Stop doing that" Naruto pouted

"Why should I?" Gohan asked

"'Cause it makes me look like a little kid" Naruto retorted

"That's because you are" Gohan continued

"Your only 6 months older than Me!" Naruto argued

"Like I said, little kid. Now we need to catch up with the others" Gohan replied

"Alright, let's go" Naruto gave in.

------------------------------- After catching up with the others -------------------------------------------

'That's Odd,' Gohan thought as he stared at a puddle on the road in front of them 'it hasn't rained for days so there shouldn't be any puddles around'

As the Group neared the out of place puddle, Gohan felt two ki signatures inside it.

Before he could do anything though, Two Shinobi burst from the puddle and ensnared Kakashi in a spiked chain and pulled, causing the jounin to split apart

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" The four Genin yelled

"Well, well, look what we have here, Gozu." one of the attacking Shinobi said

"It looks like a group of Genin are protecting our target, Meizu" the other replied while smirking evily

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Protect Tazuna" Gohan ordered falling into 'De-facto leader' mode. The other three members of team 7 nodded and followed the order without question. "I'll deal with these two"

"Aw, look, the little kiddies are playing ninja" Gozu taunted

"You think you can beat us, kid? We're the Demon mist brothers. CHUNIN ranked" Meizu teased

"Why don't you just come find out?" Gohan replied

"Alright kid, we were planning on letting you live if you had just handed over the old man. But you asked for it!" Gozu yelled and charged at Gohan.

He Drew a Kunai and slashed at Gohan's neck and hit.

Only to see the hybrid in front of him turn into water.

"A clone?" Gozu muttered before hearing Gohan's Voice from behind him

"Water shotgun Jutsu"

The next thing Gozu Knew was pain. And a lot of it. He collapsed to the ground, his body riddled with holes that weren't fatal, but extremely painfull.

"GOZU!" Meizu shouted in despair as he saw his brother pierced by droplets of water that went through him like a Knife through hot butter "Damn that Kid, I'll just get his friends instead"

Meizu charged at Naruto's Group with the intent to kill all four of them, but was stopped when he was suddenly knocked off course.

Gohan followed his kick by charging up a fair ammount of ki for a blast and launched the yellow blast at the still flying Meizu, Who also turned to water as the blast hit

"Damn" Gohan cursed as he sensed Meizu directly behind him poised to strike.

Gohan turned and what he saw made him see red.

Naruto had taken the hit for him.

Naruto was standing with his right arm held out. And A kunai embedded in it. A Kunai that was dripping an eerily purple liquid onto the ground

"Thought I'd return the favour" Naruto said while looking around and Giving Gohan one of his Fox-like grins

However, All Gohan could focus on was the Kunai in Naruto's arm, and the one who had put it there.

The concussion from Gohan's Next kick was so strong that branches snapped away from the nearby trees like twigs in a hurricane.

Meizu was launched away from Naruto with enough force to send the chunin a mile in the direction he flew, hitting every tree along the way and breaking them in half

The rest of team 7 and Tazuna were stunned at the sheer ferocity of the blow

Gohan then turned around and grabbed Naruto's arm, pulled the kunai out and started sucking the wound

"Gohan, what are you doing?" the now confused blonde asked with his squinty face

"That kunai you were stabbed with was coated with poison, Naruto, Gohan is extracting the poisoned blood." A familiar voice explained

"Kakashi-sensei!" The group shouted in relief (but without the 'sensei' in Tazuna's case) except for Gohan, who had spat out a mouthful of blood and was repeating the process.

"Yo!" the Jounin replied

"Where were you? We'd thought you'd died!" Sakura shouted

"I had to go pick up this guy" Kakashi explained while throwing a ragged looking Meizu over to his brother "He went a pretty long way" He then looked over at Gohan who had now spat out his sixth mouthful of blood, which no longer contained the purple substance "Remind me never to get on your bad side again, Gohan. By the looks of it I got off easy yesterday" He added

"That guy got off easy too" Gohan explained while glaring daggers at Meizu with hard onyx eyes "They said their target was Tazuna, but there was nothing in the briefing about facing enemy shinobi, only Bandits and Highwaymen" Gohan wondered

"That," Kakashi began while his eye looked sternly at the now nervous looking Tazuna "Is exactly what I want to Know. Start talking Tazuna"

---------------------------------------- end Chapter --------------------------------------------------

A/N: There you are! Chapter 8 done at last!

Also, don't forget to read and review!" 


	9. Chapter 9: The Demon of the Mist

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.  
WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: Welcome one and all to chapter 9 of A Hero's Resolve! Special thanks to all who reviewed and a big thanks to all who have favourited and put this story on their alert page! Also thanks to everyone who has read the story!

Just to point out, I'm now 17 as of the 28th of October!

Now for the moment a lot of you have been waiting for...

------------------------------ previously --------------------------------------

Again, a quick runthrough, people!

1. Gohan and Naruto are cornered by a mob while heading to the city gates

2. Gohan finds out that his Saiyan instincts are acting up

3. Team 7 fends off an attack from the Demon mist brothers

---------------------------------- Chapter 9: The Demon of the Mist --------------------------------

"Well, Tazuna?" Kakashi pressed

"Alright, I'll tell you..." The elderly man relented and began his story "As you know, the land of waves is an island country and we have no direct connection to the mainland. Our main links were the shipping companies, but then, Gato and his thugs moved in"

"Gato?" Kakashi asked "Of the Gato shipping corporation?"

"That's him" Tazuna confirmed "He may be one of the wealthiest men in the world, but his methods of achieving that wealth are more like the metods of a common gang leader than a buisnessman. He drove all the other companies out of buisness and began squandering the countries wealth for himself"

"Hold on a sec" Naruto interrupted with his squinty face "How did he manage to get his hands on the country's money if he's just in charge of a shipping company?"

"Because, in an island community with no other links to the mainland, he who controls the sea, controls the community" Gohan explained

"Right" Tazuna concurred "Our people have been forced into an unbearable poverty. We have only one hope left now."

"And what's that?" Sakura asked

"A bridge connecting us to the mainland" Tazuna stated "And it's almost complete too, but Gato will do anything he can to prevent it's completion. I'm the main architect so-"

"If you are eliminated, the villiagers won't be able to complete the bridge" Kakashi finished and Tazuna nodded "Well, if this is the kind of protection you need," Kakshi continued, gesturing to the two unconcious chunin "then it exceeds the parameters for a C-rank mission, this mission is at least a B-rank, why did you lie to us?" Kakashi asked

"We couldn't afford the fee for anything higher than a C-rank" Tazuna explained

"Then we should take you back to Konoha" Kakashi replied "However, it is likely that the enemy will have planned for that"

"Then what do we do?" Sasuke pitched in

"We continue with the mission" Gohan answered

"You do know the risks, don't you?" Kakashi inquired "There's a high probability that we won't return alive from this mission"

"We can't just ignore these people's plight," Gohan responded "If we turned tail and went back, we'd be little more than cowards. We accepted this mission, as well as any problems that come with it, and as Shinobi it is our duty to see it through to the end"

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed "So what if the mission's a little harder? We'll just beat anyone who tries to stop us!"

"I agree" Sasuke said

"Well, if Sasuke's going, then so am I!" Sakura vowed

"Well, If that's what you want then we'll continue" Kakashi said before turning to Tazuna again "But you and your country will have to pay the fee for an A-rank mission, when you can afford it, as compensation"

"That's fine" Tazuna agreed

"All right, Let's move out" Kakashi ordered

------------------------------------- Somewhere in The land of waves ---------------------------------------

"FAILED!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN FAILED!? I DIDN'T PAY YOU TO FAIL!"

"Who said anything about failing?" A bandaged man replied "I'll just go meet them myself"

"You'd better take out that Tazuna or else!"

The bandaged man vanished without replying

------------------------------------------- With Team 7 -------------------------------------------

The group were now standing next to the ocean, awaiting the arrival of a boat to take them across

"How much longer do we hafta wait?" Naruto's whine exclaimed "I'm bored"

He was silenced by Sakura's fist

"Naruto! Whining won't make the boat arrive quicker you idiot!"

Suprisingly, Gohan didn't make a move to stop the girl in 'pink banshee mode', but did give her a small glare.

Naruto was left nursing a rather large lump on his head, grunbling all the while

The rest of the group looked at them with sweatdrops rapidly forming, but turned their attention to the waters where a silhouete of a small boat was forming through the dense fog

"Ah! It's here!" Tazuna exclaimed as the boat came in to focus

"Hey! Tazuna, good to see you!" The man on the boat greeted as he pulled up alongside them

"As it is you, my friend, how are things in the villiage?" Tazuna asked

The man now took on a forlorn look and shook his head

"I see..." Tazuna replied "Well, we'd best get moving then. The quicker I return, the faster the bridge will be completed"

The group clambered into the small boat and set off for the other side

------------------------------------- Land of Waves shoreline: 30 minutes later ------------------------------------

Team 7 and Tazuna were now walking through a small forest on the way to Tazuna's home viliage when Gohan began to have a feeling that something was amiss.

Extending his senses, he noticed something in the shrubs to the right of them. Reaching into his weapons pouch on his right leg, he swiftly drew a Kunai and launched it at the disturbance.

Which turned out to be a, now dead, white rabbit.

"Gohan! What was that for?!" Sakura shrieked

Kakashi noticed something about the animal

'That's a snowshoe hare, but at this time of year, they should havde brown coats so this one's been raised in captivity...'

"A DISTRACTION! GET DOWN!" Kakashi yelled and the group ducked just as a massive, spinning sword passed overhead and lodged into a nearby tree.

The group looked up and saw a man with bandages which covered the lower half of his face and, though you couldn't see it through the bandages, a bloodthirsty sneer, standing on the hilt of his massive blade.

Kakashi regognised him instantly.

"Zabuza Momochi, The demon of the mist, an S-rank rouge ninja from the hidden mist villiage and wanted for the attempted assassination of the Mizukage" The lazy jounin stated

"Kakashi Hatake, The infamous copycat ninja of the leaf. Your listed in the mist bingo book as a wanted criminal. Back before I became a rouge, one of my orders was to kill you on sight" The Bandaged man replied

Gohan couldn't help but wonder if this was how high ranking shinobi on opposing sides greeted each other.

"You know why I'm here, Kakashi. Hand over the old man and I'll let you go" Zabuza said

"Then I'm afraid we have a conflict of interest, Zabuza." Kakashi calmly replied "My mission is to protect Tazuna."

"Then it seems we have no choice." Zabuza eagerly stated

Kakashi reached up for his headband and tilted it into it's proper position, revealing his other eye

"Let's finish this quickly, Zabuza" Kakashi said while opening his left eye to reveal an iris as red as blood, circled by three comma like shapes

"The Sharingan?, so soon? You flatter me" Zabuza sneered

Sasuke visibly tensed at this

Zabuza quickly went through some hand seals

"Water style: Hidden mist Jutsu"

An increadibly dense fog rolled in from nowhere and blanketed the group.

"What the?" Naruto exclaimed "Where'd this come from? I can't see anything!"

"The silent killing technique" Gohan supplied, recognising it from the scrolls he'd read in the Konoha library

"And Zabuza's a master in it" Kakashi finished

"Heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, corroted, and jugular. Seven points to attack, each of them fatal. Which should I choose?" Zabuza's disembodied voice drifted through the thick fog like the clouds through the sky

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna started to tremble slightly at this.

Sasuke started to move towards Tazuna, almost hypnotised, about to hand him over to the rouge.

As if sensing this Kakashi rounded to look at the petrified Uchiha.

"SASUKE!" He barked "I will not allow my comrades to die. I swear it on my life!"

Sasuke seemed to calm down, assured by his Sensei's words.

"Too bad you'll have to break that promise, Kakashi."

Zabuza charged out of the mist, his blade raised and sliced Kakashi clean in half. He then turned towards the remaining targets, bloodthristy grin causing his bandaged to strech a little.

Gohan moved to stand in front of the others, while pushing Naruto behind him, and took a defensive stance.

"So your the leader of this little gang of kids, huh?" Zazbuza deduced "So, I'm guessing your next then?"

Without waiting for an answer, the demon of the mist charged once again, blade poised to cleave the half saiyan in two.

"Water style: Water armor Jutsu!"

Zabuza's blade passed into the watery sheild and stopped dead in it's tracks

"What?!" The rouge exclaimed before he felt the cold metal blade of a Kunai against his throat

"It's over, Zabuza" Kakashi stated.

--------------------------------------------- end Chapter -------------------------------------

A/N: Well, there's chapter 9! Sorry it took so long...

I'm not sure when i'll get 10 up, but it will be as soon as I can!

Don't forget to read an review! 


	10. Chapter 10: Pride

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ OR NARUTO. IF I DID THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES INSTEAD.

WARNINGS: SLIGHTLY ANGTSY GOHAN AND I'LL BE USING THE ENGLISH NAMES FOR JUTSU COS I DON'T KNOW THE JAPPANESE ONES. SORRY...

A/N: Uh... hey all! Sorry i've been away for as long as I have... I Really did try to get this done sooner but college assignments really get you bogged down, you know? I got 62 of the poxy things to do and so far i've worked my way through 10 of them. Forensics courses are, in the words of Shikamaru "troublesome".

A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed and/or added this to their favourites and alerts lists. A special thanks to the anonomous person who lerft the 51st review! You gave me the motivation to continue writing this so thank you.

* * *

Previously....

Without waiting for an answer, the demon of the mist charged once again, blade poised to cleave the half saiyan in two.

"Water style: Water armor Jutsu!"

Zabuza's blade passed into the watery sheild and stopped dead in it's tracks

"What?!" The rouge exclaimed before he felt the cold metal blade of a Kunai against his throat

"It's over, Zabuza" Kakashi stated.

* * *

Chapter 10: Pride.

Zabuza glanced over his shoulder to see the remains of what he had originally thought to be Kakashi. What the Demon of the Mist saw though, was a clearly dead, cleanly cut (Zabuza expected no less as he sharpened his blade on a daily basis) wooden log.

"A substitution jutsu... can't believe I fell for that" Zabuza muttered to himself, releasing the grip on his blade in silent shock.

"An experienced shinobi such as yourself must know to never overlook the basics." Gohan plainly stated while dropping his jutsu, the loud clang of Zabuza's blade reverberating through the trees as it hit the ground "Such neglegence of this fact is why you are trapped while Kakashi-sensei is free to take yor life with a single movement." He finished drawing the attention of the trapped shinobi.

Zabuza was inwardly shocked at the lack of emotion in the raven-haired kid. Konoha is widely known as the 'softest' of the five great hidden villiages, yet this boy was as calm about being face-to-face with a shinobi of Zabuza's repute and skill level as someone from his former villiage. The rouge ninja swept his critical gaze over the hybrid, taking in the way the kid's eyes gared defiantly at him and glimpsing the dormant power laying just beneath the surface making Zabuza feel that he was in the eye of a massive hurricane, a storm that, should it's wielder wish it, envelop the whole planet with a simple flick of his hand.

Zabuza's eyes continued their silent assesment of the boy before him, his mind noting that the kid was incredibly well built for a child of his age from an 'enlightened' villiage such as Konoha, or from any villiage for that matter. The rouge came to the conclusion that this child had been training for a _very_ long time, as if his life had depended on it on more than one occasion. Zabuza noticed a scar on the kid's lert arm, near the shoulder, that looked like the skin had almost been seared clean off the bone. This, coupled with the 'tatoo' on the boy's left cheek led the rouge to believe the kid had escaped from some sort of slavery trade as the scar looked suspiciously like the kid had been through some sort of torture, and then 'marked' by his captors. Zabuza felt a wave of unwelcome pity on the boys behalf, if that was the case.

The Demon of the Mist's eyes then fell to the kid's waist and noticed something odd about the fur 'belt' that was wrapped around it. Out of sudden morbid curiosity, Zabuza reached for it and was nearly shocked out of his skin when the 'belt' moved, almost unnoticably, away from his outstrecthed hand. _'A tail_ _'_ Zabuza realised _'Now this is unexpected.'_

Deciding that it was now time to continue his mission, and ignoring the odd looks he was recieving from the Copycat's team, Zabuza decided it was time to end his little charade and burst out in maniacal laughter.

"I don't see what you find so funny about your position, Zabuza" Kakashi spoke, interrupting the rouge's laughter. Zabuza's attention was now firmly back on the silver-haired jounin who held a kunai against his throat.

"What I find so humorous, Kakashi, is you! You actually think i would let myself get into this position!" And with that said, 'Zabuza' dissolved into a puddle of water.

"Damn!" Kakashi cursed as he spun on the spot, while quickly performing the handsigns that would save his life and found himself staring down the Demon of the Mist, in all his bloodthristy glory.

A sudden shockwave blew Kakashi back towards his squad and his client and looked on in horrified shock as he noticed the scene that was taking place in the spot he had just occupied. He came to his senses quickly enough to grab a determined Naruto's arm before the blonde could rush off to his certain death and was suprised at the intensity of the glare that the usually joyful and carefree genin was directing at him.

"Let me go, Kakashi." Naruto growled and Kakashi noticed two things. One, that Naruto had omitted the '-sensei' that was usually attatched to his name when Naruto adressed him, meaning that Naruto was barely containing his anger. The other thing the jounin noticed was tat Naruto's eyes, usually a deep cerulean blue were now tainted with a menacing blood red and that the round pupils were now slitted in a way that made the boy look feral.

Getting a grip on himself, Kakashi fixed a stern gaze on the blonde genin who was attempting to struggle out of his grip.

"Naruto, calm down. Getting yourself killed won't help anyone!" Kakashi reprimanded

"I don't care!" Naruto yelled back at him "I'll make that bastard pay for this!" He continued his eyes focusing clearly on the scene where Zabuza currently stood.

Occupying the very spot Kakashi was in less than a minute ago, Gohan stood, unusually limp, his right hand placed weakly on top of the blade that had embedded itself deeply into his side while his left was hanging lifelessly at his side. The eyes which were normally full of a steely determination and a fathomless black that never seemed to end, were now dulled to a near lifeless pale grey, blurred with tears, and only a sadness that seemed to draw in the whole world was left. Gohan's chest heaved in the effort to keep breathing, but each rise and fall looked increadibly pained. Crimson blood leaked out of the massive wound and onto the ground, more with each beat of the hybrid's rapidly weakening heart.

Far off to the side, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna were each as shell-shocked as eachother, each of them pale as they looked on in horror, each thinking the same thing:

_'No-one should have to die like this...'_

Holding the blade that he knew was keeping the boy alive, Zabuza was unnerved by the feeling he was getting. Usually when he made a kill, he felt a satisfaction, an almost joyful feeling that he knew he should be feeling at this very moment.

But now...

Now, straring at the boy's back that was facing him, he was feeling somthing foreign, something new and he didn't like it, not one bit. It was remorse, guilt and regret.

Gohan's left hand lifted slowly and everyone's attention was drawn to it as it reached out for something, quivering at the effort to keep it there.

Naruto suddenly broke free of Kakashi's grip and raced towards the feeble half-saiyan, and grabbed the outstetched hand in his own, tears filling his once again ocean blue eyes. Gohan gave a weak smile and spoke ina a voice that was far too quietto even be called a whisper:

"Run, squirt, get out of here."

With that said, the eyes of the proud warrior started to fade.

Snapping back to reality and attempting to clear his head of the unusual feelings clawing at him, Zabuza put up a mask of indifference and slowly started to pull the blade from the hybrid's side.

Every inch the blade was moved felt like a lifetime of pain to the fallen warrior, and he was so weakened that he couldn't even voice his pain. When the blade was finally removed, Gohan collapsed weakly toward the ground, only to be caught by Naruto, who rested the hybrid's head gently in his lap, tears falling onto Gohan's hair and making it damp.

Kakashi rushed over and racked his brain for any jutsu he possesed in order to try to save the boy's life. Looking at Naruto for permission, who nodded desperately, he placed his hands over the wound, which glowed a soft green as the wound started to slowly heal up.

Zabuza looked towards the three other members of the group and found himself speaking, against his will:

"I'm sorry"

Those two words shocked him to the core and before the stunned group could say anything, he was caught with a powerful blow to the face and sent tumbling into the lake. When the rouge resurfaced, the glare, the unrestrained hate and malice he and sorrow he felt radiating in waves that could easily dwarf any tsunami, that was sent like a second blow at him burned it's way into Zabuza's very soul. For the first time in his life, Zabuza Momochi, The Demon of the Mist, S-class rouge ninja, Master of the silent killing technique and brutal murderer of hundreds upon hundreds of shinobi and civillian alike, was afraid. The fear he felt at this very moment was usually what he saw in his victim's eyes just before he delivered the final blow... No wonder they usually begged for their lives...

Sasuke, standing with Sakura and Tazuna, also felt the fear that was affecting everyone, all except...

Sasuke's eyes swiveled over towards Kakashi and the fallen Gohan and could see the slight smile on the hybrid's face, the deathly pale face looked almost serene and Sasuke had to wonder if Gohan had actually died.

Turning his gaze to the left, he noticed something odd about the enraged Naruto, some sort of energy (chakra, the Uchiha presumed, but it certainly didn't feel like Naruto's usual chakra), a deep red in colour swilrled around the blonde genin.

Naruto glared hatefully at the man who had dared to injure Gohan. He suddenly understood why Gohan got so angry whenever someone attempted to hurt the blonde. The rage he felt consumed him, made his blood boil to dangerous levels. Every fibre of Naruto's being was urging him on, telling him in no uncertain terms that this pathetic human before him deserved to die in the most painful of ways. He would put this human in front of him to death ever so agonisingly slowly that he would beg and grovel at his feet, begging for forgiveness... and then, Naruto would tear out the human's heart, rip off it's head and give them to the recovering Gohan as a present, proof that he had exacted his vengence... yes... that would be perfect.

Zabuza became highly unnerved at the crazed look the greiving boy's eyes took that promised his death.

Before the rouge could flee however, he felt very precice and very familiar needles sink into his neck before blissful darkness consumed his consiousness...

* * *

A/N: So what do you think? I didn't expect the chapter to turn out the way it did, if i'm honest and also i ended up doing my first character 'death' scene. Again, i'm not sure when the next chapter will be up so please be patient and thanks for reading!!

Don't forget to read and review!


	11. Chapter 11: Duty Of Care

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

DISCLAIMER: I own neither Dragonball Z nor Naruto. Credit goes to their respective creators and affiliates. I do own Riseki and Hiraku though, to find out who they are you should read the chapter.

WARNINGS: Angst and emotional torment galore, also mentionings of modern medical treatments and some humour to lighten things up a bit.

A/N: Hello everyone! I know I've been away for a while (Again...) But RL caught up with me and I ended up with something called writer's block which I never really understood before now. Every time I tried to put pen to paper (Or fingers to keyboard in this case) I couldn't think for the life of me how I was going to write this. Special thanks to everyone out there reading this, knowing that you enjoy my writing is one of the things that helped motivated me to keep writing. Anyway, with that said and without futher ado...

I present to you all Chapter 11!

* * *

Chapter 11: Duty of Care

_"Heart rate erratic!..."_

_"Pulse fading, breathing shallow... Where is that IV?"_

_"He's flatlining! Defibrillator STAT!... Set at 120. CLEAR!"_

_"No effect"_

_"Set to 150. Clear!"_

_"Nothing"_

_"Stay with us kid... 200, clear!"_

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

_"We have a pulse!" _

_"Tough little guy aren't ya? Now let's get him stable."_

_"All right, gather up these towels, see if we can't find out his blood type. He's going to need a tranfusion soon."_

_

* * *

_Naruto was silent.

That, in and of itself, might not have been enough to lead most to believe something was wrong.

Kakashi knew differently however.

In his brief time of knowing the blonde, Kakashi had thought he had recieved a veritable Obito, the jounin had mused, and that the genin sitting sullenly in front of him was one of those which passed through every few years in the Academy that thought becoming a Shinobi was all fun and games, a way to learn how to prank your peers and elders better. Someone that believed they were invincible and that life would be easy as part of the military.

Now, however Kakashi knew it was a mask. An almost perfect mask used to conceal Naruto's true thoughts and feelings, a way to ensure that no one could see how his childhood had affected him, a way to cope with the resentment, the hate, the disgust of those who he called fellow villiagers, who shared with him the place the blonde had called home.

Before this mission had begun, Kakashi had seen that loathing with his own eyes... eye, the jounin chuckled to himself.

A cold, lethal and accusitory glare from opposite him killed the laugh in it's infancy.

After sobering from the dark gaze, Kakashi took a closer look around the room he currently occupied.

His remaining three genin students were sitting in two distinct places. Sasuke was leaning against the back wall of the room, not deigning to sit on either of the two benches that stretched the length of the room on either side of him, with his arms folded across his chest and a seemingly bored-yet-nonchalant look on his face, yet Kakashi could see that the Uchiha was troubled. Kakashi held no doubts as to why this was though.

Sasuke had been shown that he wasn't as strong as he liked to believe he was. He had seen someone who was stronger that Sasuke himself be defeated and quite possibly killed in a single blow by an enemy Shinobi. Kakashi knew of Sasuke's problems with his past - Kakashi had been one of the few briefed on the full reasons and series of events behind the Uchiha massacre - and could see that it was not the possible death of a teamate that caused the barely visible distress on the Uchiha, not that he was unaffected by it, but the fact that Sasuke had finally seen how training and fieldwork as a Shinobi were entirely different and that the things you took for granted in training at the academy, like knowing that you were going to be ambushed from the most obvious place in the delivery mission assessment - Kakashi wondered if that was still part of the training programme, so much had changed from his own time at the academy after all - could not be applied to an ambush in the field.

Kakashi had seen how unnerved Sasuke had been when Zabuza had first shown up, and how angry the Uchiha had been at himself to have not noticed something was wrong. Kakashi aslo knew that Sasuke was determined to be stronger, to be the best, to push himself to the very limit just to see if he could move beyond it.

Not that that was a bad thing to srtive after as a Shinobi, Kakashi himself still followed that principle to a certain degree, but Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if Sasuke would remain loyal to Konoha if offered a shortcut to power in order to exact his revenge on his brother, Itachi. Kakashi needed to keep an eye on Sasuke - Kakashi tactfully repressed the laugh this time - and look for any hints of possible betrayal... Just in case.

Next to Sasuke, sitting on one of the nearby beches was another of Kakashi's charges. Sakura looked a little worse for wear, she had shed silent tears all the way to the hospital and had finally reigned herself in. Kakashi could tell that she, at present, wasn't cut out to be a Kunoichi.

Sakura _was_ intelligent, she was one of the top in her class after all, but her intelligence was mostly book smarts and not the calm, cool intelect that was needed in the world of the Shinobi. Kakashi recognised that she had potential however, she was someone who could folllow any path of her choice she was what the bingo books would call an all-rounder. Someone who could use an equal amount of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijustu and switch between them quickly enough to keep even an expert in a particular Shinobi field of expertise off balance.

Her inexperience was showing though. Kakashi could tell that the girl was unused to death, most likely even to the _concept_ of someone dying and the jounin hoped that this would be a turning point in her life, whatever the outcome, and drive her forward. A sudden sob shook Kakashi from his thoughts.

His attention was drawn to the genin he was most concerned about at the moment - the remaining one would either make it or he wouldn't, callous or not it was the way things worked, that and seeing things like this happen time and time again happend to dull a person's feelings over the inevitability of death - and found that Naruto was on the verge of falling into yet _another_ fit of tears.

Naruto was slumped against the wall, next to the door to the room, on the floor. The blonde had his knees curled up to his chest, head tucked away and hidden from view and body trembling with the force of the sobs the genin was attempting to stop.

_Attempting_ being the key word.

The howling cry that Naruto emmitted as he gave in to the grief cause everyone else in the room to flinch and try to turn their attention elsewhere. Kakashi was about to look away, but was caught in Naruto's eyes. The blonde had looked up at him and Kakashi found something that shook him to the core.

Beneath the swirling torrent of despair, behind the fortress of sadness and underneath the crevices of anger, was... Well, Kakashi didn't really know what it could be described as except...

_Nothing_.

Naruto simply looked so lost, so frightened, that Kakashi felt he was looking at a young child told to go off on his merry way and never come back. Kakashi had only seen this sort of behaviour in Inuzuka combat hounds when their master had been killed and they were left behind, and that disturbed the jounin. Kakashi could not understand how one person could be so attached to another, couldn't understand how the blonde in front of him seemed to have lost the one thing tying him to existance.

Or maybe he _could _understand, but didn't_ want _to. It was a scary concept.

Kakashi could now see in perfect clarity that Naruto had, after all the harships he had faced in his childhood, after the countless confrontations with the villiagers who bellittled him and despised his very existance when Naruto didn't even know _why, _couldn't understand _how_ they could hate him so when he hadn't done anything to them, after all that he had finally found someone who didn't have any preconcieved idea of what he was like and someone who actually found someone who wanted to _know _him for who he was. Finally found something Naruto could call _his._

Only to have it torn away from him in front of his very eyes.

Finally, mercifully, Naruto returned to turning in on himself, returned to howling his grief out to the world.

Kakashi could only hope against hope itself that his fourth genin student would make it; he feared for Naruto's sanity if the worst happened.

The minutes ticked by slowly, then they trickled into hours.

_Click..._

The door to the waiting room opened and a woman who looked to have just entered her middle age wearing a nurse's clothing walked into the room. All heads turned towards her.

Kakashi was the first to speak what was on all of his genin's minds.

"Did he make it?"

The nurse turned to him and gave a warm smile and Kakashi felt that a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "It was a close call and we did lose him at one point..." Naruto, who was hidden behind the door now, looked up. Rising to his feet, the blonde walked over to the nurse, eyes suddenly full to the brim with hope and cautious joy.

"He's alive though..." Naruto asked, his voice hoarse from the weeping he had done earlier "...Isn't he?"

The nurse turned to face him and she could see that the boy in the Intensive Care Unit meant a great deal to this one in front of her. It warmed her heart that such attachments were still posible even as Shinobi, her own son had left to become one himself against her wishes and she hadn't seen her Ryusuke for ten long years. Looking at this child in front of her though, she couldn't help but smile broadly, maybe there was still hope after all.

"Yes, he is dear." She replied "That boy of yours is a fighter, he _really_ didn't want to go."

"Take me to him" Naruto pleaded desperately "_Please_."

"It's against hospital policy..." She tentatively tried to explain, but seeing the despiration in those cerulean orbs, she quickly caved "but let's go ask Doctor Asakawa, see if he can't give you special permission given the circumstances."

Suffice it to say, Naruto quickly agreed, leaving with the nurse. Kakashi then turned to the two remaining genin. "Well..." He started with an eye smile "Alls well that ends well."

Sasuke simply scoffed and turned away with a "Hn", though inwardly the Uchiha was relieved. Sasuke had already seen too much death in his short life and only wanted the next death that he would bear witness to be his brother Itachi's that Sasuke himself would cause.

Sakura on the other hand, smiled "That's a relief," she replied "he should be fine now though shouldn't he Kakashi-sensei?" The girl asked, concern in her green eyes.

Kakashi's eye smile vansihed to be replaced by a serious and contemplative look. "He should be, but there are other factors that need to be taken into account. The fact that he survived the blood loss and that he managed to claw his way back from death proves he's incredibly strong willed," Kakashi paused, a hint of pride in his tone "But he's not out of the woods yet."

"What do you mean?" The ever silent Uchiha blurted out, looking suprised by his own inability to keep his thoughts to himself at present.

Kakashi turned to face Sasuke and answered the Uchiha's question. "One thing that could cause his condition to worsen would be if the wound gets infected, my medical ninjustu was only meant to be used to treat minor injuries, like grazes or shallow cuts that could impair my fighting ablilties. I wasn't able to completely close the wound, so it would have most likely been sewn up, meaning it could still become infected so he'll most likely have to be monitored for a few days to be safe." At this point, the jounin turned to face both of the genin in the room.

"Another thing tht could cause his condition to deteriorate would be the amount of blood he lost. Though, yes he did pull through, he will most likely need to be given a tranfusion of blood in order to keep him stable. I expect that we'll be tested for compatibility and asked to donate if we are. I trust the both of you will have no problems with that." Kakashi ended with not a question, but an order, one that was not lost on the genin.

They both nodded quickly in agreement.

* * *

Doctor Hiraku Asakawa was having a rather hectic day. Don't get him wrong, it had started off fairly normal, - or at least as normal as it could be in a town run by overpaid gangsters-turned-security guards - the usual sore throat, chesty cough, tummy ache, severed thumb sort of day, you know?

He had just sat down for his evening break with a cup of black coffee to keep him awake - it was the type of town where doctors generally had to work twenty-four hour shifts in order to turnover a profit - and put his feet up before begining to sort through the monetary affairs and syphon off the _contribution_ to Gato's thugs as well as the thirty percent levy imposed on all buisnesses to have the, rather dubious, privilage of working in a town run by the Gato Shipping Corporation - extortion money in other words.

Just as he had been about to call for his 5 O'clock, Mrs. Misuko - probably complaining about another new ilness she thought she had, hypochondriac as she is - he was interrupted by Nurse Riseki, who came barrelling into his office, red faced and out of breath - looking for the world like she had run all the way here from Suna.

She had explained - in between pants and gasps - that they had a situation that needed immediate attention. After swiftly following her to the ER, and ignoring an irrate Mrs. Misuko - "But Dr. Asakawa, what about my flatulence!" - Hiraku had taken one look at the crumpled form on the stretcher and had finally rememberred why he had gone into medicine in the first place, to save lives.

The boy on the stretcher couln't have been more than thirteen years old, still a child, and had a massive laceration on the left side of his body, it looked like someone had tried to cleave the poor boy in half. Spying the Shinobi headband on the boy's forehead, Hiraku gulped - someone probably had.

Gathering his composure, Hiraku collected the preliminary report carried out by Nurse Riseki, - who had promply collapsed as they had entered the room due to exaustion - and had calmly yet hurriedly gathered his equipment, donned his protective clothing, had the boy lifted onto the operating table and called for some universal donor blood and an IV of adrenaline, protein and sugar solution while setting about sewing up the wound.

After several close calls, five bags of O-negative and three hours later, the kid was finally stabilized. At least, for now.

Hiraku returned to his office - after sending poor Riseki off again, this time to give the boy's squadmates the good news - to find a note sitting primly on his desk from Mrs. Misuko, informing him that, in no uncertain terms, she would be back first thing in the morning and expected to be seen. Hiraku groaned aloud in annoyance, but then grinned as he remembered that he wasn't in the following day, meaning she was his colleuge Dr. Suzuki's problem now. Dr. Asakawa cackled gleefully.

_Knock knock knock._

Hiraku sighed heavily, he just couldn't seem to catch a break today could he?.

"Yes, what is it?" The Doctor asked.

The door to his office creaked open - he really needed to have that looked at, it was downright creepy at times - and Hiraku saw a nervous Nurse Riseki peek her head around the door.

"Um... Dr. Asakawa, may we have a word with you?" She asked.

"We?" Hiraku replied, his gaze questioning "I only see you Nurse Riseki, who else is there with you?"

Riseki gave him a small smile. "One of the child in the ICU's squad members, he wants permission to see his friend." Before Dr. Asakawa could reply to her answer and remind her of hospital policy, she interrupted him by stepping into the room and bringing the friend of the injured child with her.

After one look at the boy Nurse Riseki had brought in, Hiraku knew the blue eyed boy in front of him would be getting his way. The Doctor's reslove had crumbled before it could even be propped up.

"Hello there," Hiraku began kindly to the blonde "May I ask your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, sir." The boy now known to the Doctor as Naruto replied

"Naruto, you want permission to visit your friend? To make sure he's okay?" Dr. Asakawa asked

"Yes, sir." Naruto replied and Hiraku was suprised to see the amount of depriration forged with determination he could see in the bluest blue eyes he had ever seen.

"And," Hiraku continued - his curiosity finally getting the better of him - "What's your friend's name? He wasn't carrying any form of identification."

"His name's Gohan, sir," Naruto replied "I've got his Shinobi ID here if you want to check." The blonde pulled out the aforementioned card and handed it to the curious Doctor. Looking at the photo on the card, Hiraku could see the raw determination in the newly known to him as Gohan's onyx eyes, eyes that looked far too old to be set into the face of a thirteen year old, as the age given on the card stated. His critical gaze also noted the dragon tatoo on Gohan's left cheek on the picture, which the Doctor attributed to the boy's clan - probably some sort of initiation - as well as the boy's heavily muscled physique, which he hadn't noticed in the ER, as he had been more focused on saving the boy's life.

Looking at Naruto, Hiraku made his decision.

"I can't simply allow you to visit Gohan," he began and held up a calming hand when the blonde's eyes lit with fury as his mouth opened to retort angrily. "but I suppose we can come to an arrangement of sorts.

"What kind of _arrangement_?" Naruto replied.

Hiraku grinned shrewdly. "Currently, due to circumstances beyond our control, we are hugely understaffed." he began " While we do have enough staff to cope with the usual problems, we don't have enough to keep a constant eye on patients in the ICU." The doctor eyed the blue eyed blonde across from him speculatively.

"That's where you come in." Hirahu continued, eyeing the hope that seemed to ooze from Naruto. "I want you to watch over him tonight and alert us of any and I mean _any_ change in his condition. You'll have to stay awake all night of couse, but we'll provide you with drinks and such to help keep you going throuhout the night. Do you accept these conditions?" He asked.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, sheer joy radiating from every ounce of his being, a huge grin on his face as he started to bounce enthusiastically on the balls of his feet. Dr. Asakawa couldn't help but grin back - the damn kid's smile was infectious - and gesture to Nurse Riseki.

"Nurse Riseki will show you to the ICU and will inform you of your duties tonight. Dismissed."

"Yes Sir!" Naruto saluted and bounded out of the room.

Riseki smiled at Hiraku and gave him a mock accusatory glare. "Dr. Asakawa! I never thought I would see the day that you of all people would lie through your teeth!"

The Doctor pretented to look affronted. "I have no idea what you're talking about, I simply told young Naruto about our problem and he volunteered his services. The fact that he will be helping look after his friend is _purely coincidental._" He looked at the Nurse with a commanding glint to his eyes which stated that no more was to be said on the matter.

"Of coruse." Nurse Riseki turned to follow Naruto out of the office, but not before she turned and grinned slyly before adding "I always knew you were a big softie at heart!" before dashing out of the room with the speed that had made her so useful as a messenger in her career.

Dr. Asakawa simply took it in his stride and went back to his work, smiling all the while.

* * *

When Nurse Riseki and Naruto arrived at the ICU, the blonde genin finally got to see Gohan for the first time after arriving at the hopital. The Hybrid was hooked up to a variety of machines which each made an equally varied array of noises and alternating intervals, but there was one machine that was drawing his attention. The heart rate monitor. Never before had a sound given him such relief as that electronic and steady _beep_.

Almost immediately, the blonde was next to the prone form of his teammate, grasping the nearest thing he could - the half-saiyan's hand - he found it was slightly cool to the touch, and slightly pale in the artificial lighting, but pressing his thumb over the pulse point in Gohan's wrist, Naruto felt it.

To some, the machines may have been enough proof, but Naruto had to be sure, had to be absolutely certain that this was real, that it wasn't some cruel joke being played at his expense, that had happened so many times before...

Naruto felt the prickling behind his eyes again for what must have been the millionth time that day, but this time it wasn't from grief or anger or frustration. This time it was from the overwhelming joy he could feel from th very core of his being, from his very soul, and he knew that he was crying tears of happiness.

It was a new experience for the blonde.

Nurse Riseki smiled warmly at the boy as he collapsed over the body of his friend, cying in his relief. She knew, at that moment that Dr. Asakawa had made the right call as she doubted that Naruto would have stayed away if if the Doctor had refused. After the blonde had gathered himself together, she began to instruct the boy on his duties.

"If there are any changes, any at all, you press that button there, no matter how trivial it may seem and either myself, Dr. Asakawa, or one one of our colleuges will arrive to see what's happened."

Nauto gave her a determined nod.

"If he starts to move, you press that button. If he starts getting codler, you press that button. When that bag is empty," She gestuted to the bag of universal blood. "or that one," She pointed to the bag of clear liquid. "you press that button. When that one is full," Riseki motioned towards the bag contailing the yellowish liquid. "You press the button. When someone enters the room, you ask them who they are, for identification, what they're here for or to do, note it down on that clipboard along with the time they enter and exit the room. If they fail to provide identification, get them to leave the room and press the button. Someone else will be sent to sort out the problem. And if he starts bleeding or thrashing around, please in the name of all that's holy press that button repeatedly and make as much noise as you can until someone arrives. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Naruto replied "You can count on me."

Riseki grinned. "I know I can dear. Now I'll be checking up on you on the hour every hour to see if everything's alright."

"Right."

"And don't forget dear," The Nurse added "Tonight is very important for your friend. Your looking out for him to make sure he stays alive." She looked at Naruto seriously to stress the next point's importance. "Your mission is hereby to ensure the survival to your teammate and make sure that he recieves proper treatment for his injuries. Failure to do so will likely cost Gohan his life. Are you prepared?"

"Absolutely" Naruto confirmmed.

Riseki nodded and exited the room.

The blonde genin looked back over to the fallen form of Gohan and gave himself a solemn vow.

"Nothing and no one will harm you again while I'm around Gohan. I swear this on my very life."

That being said, Naruto began the most important mission of his life to date, one that he couldn't afford to fail. One that Gohan couldn't afford for him to fail at. This time Naruto would be Gohan's protector.

Previously warm blue eyes became as cold as the most frozen glaciers as the genin settled into his task, keeping careful watch over the fallen hero.

* * *

A/N: Well? what do you think? I decided to try some characterisation to see how things turned out an I'm certainly happy with it!.

But what I think isn't half as important as to what your, the readers think. So I'll ask you all to leave a review about what you thought about the chapter so tthat I can Improve still further.

Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12: A Little Miracle

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

Disclaimer: I own neither DBZ or Naruto. Credit goes to their respective creators and affiliates.

A/N: Well... this is awkward... I didn't really expect to be away from this story for this long but it seemed like one thing after another kept cropping up in RL. Can't make any definite promises of regular updates but I will do my absolute best to continue this.

Special thanks to all those who have reviewed and read the story!

Chapter 12: A Little Miracle.

As she had promised the boy, Riseki did indeed return every hour to check on Naruto and his charge. She found it quite endearing that the boy had followed her instructions to the letter and asked her every time she entered the room for identification and the reason for her visit before noting it down as instructed.

It was during her Three o'clock check that she had found Naruto fast asleep, slumped over the body of his friend. Smiling warmly at the scene she left to go and make Naruto some coffee, under no illusions that the boy would be furious with himself for dropping off.

Naruto felt someone gently shaking his arm, attempting to wake him. Realising quickly that this meant he had fallen asleep, the blonde rubbed his eyes furiously to remove the sleep from them. He looked to his left and noticed that the kind Doctor-lady from earlier was the one who had awoken him.

"I-I'm so sorry, I fell asleep didn't I? I didn't mean for that to happen, honest!" Naruto exclaimed, attempting to rise from the chair he was in only to notice at the last second that his sleeping position had led to his legs falling asleep as well, rendering them little more than rubber and promptly fell flat on his face. He heard a giggle from above him and found the Doctor-lady placing a cup of something on the end table next to the bed before turning to help the blonde off the floor.

"It's quite alright, Naruto" The Doctor-lady said, helping him back into his chair. "If I'm to be completely honest with you, I didn't expect you to last this long. You really are something else." The praise had Naruto grinning widely. She then reached over the boy and handed him the cup. "That should help keep you awake"

The blonde gave a quick thanks before starting to blow softly on the scalding hot caffeinated beverage to cool it down before taking a sip, grimacing slightly at the taste. He had never been fond of the stuff; preferring plain old milk. Gohan however had an unnatural obsession with the stuff (the fact that Naruto himself had a similar obsession with ramen was a moot point). Gohan had once tried to introduce Naruto to the so-called 'wonders' of coffee and, with a disapproving glance at Naruto's spluttering and thereby spilling of his precious liquid had said it was simply an 'acquired taste', whatever the hell _that_ meant.

The memory brought his attention to the prone form of said caffeine addict, lying so quietly on the hospital bed.

"How's he doing?" The sudden question cut through the silence and startled the blonde slightly, drawing his attention back to the Doctor-lady.

"Nothings really happened, but that's a good thing, right?" he replied.

The Doctor-lady smiled again and nodded once before heading towards the doorway. "I think his bandages need to be changed" she said as she paused at the doorway. She turned to face the blonde boy. "Can you get him into a sitting position for me?" Naruto gave a nod of agreement "I'll be back in a minute."

Thankfully, Naruto's legs had regained the ability to walk by now so he was able to stand with no trouble. Moving to do as the woman had asked, he idly noted that Gohan's skin had become a lot warmer than the last time he had touched it.

Before he could think too much on what this could mean, The Doctor-lady had returned with a fresh set of bandages.

The pair quietly set to work and went about the job of removing the old set. Naruto almost vomited at the sight of the amount of blood that had soaked those bandages. The Doctor-lady then went to the nearby sink and wet a cloth before returning to clean the wound.

As the blood came away with relative ease, Naruto noticed that the wound itself didn't look quite as bad as he would have expected. He looked over to the Doctor-lady to ask about this but paused at the befuddled expression she was sporting.

"Hey, Doctor-lady, what gives, why'd ya stop?" He part asked, part demanded.

"T-This isn't possible" was the only answer he got before she was on her feet and rushing out of the room. Naruto looked at the doorway with wide eyes and had the familiar feeling that told him he was sporting a sweatdrop. After blinking twice in utter bewilderment, Naruto guessed he should continue washing Gohan's injury and set about doing so.

_'Today _really _isn't my day'_

That was the thought on 's mind as he followed a once again hysterical Nurse Riseki to the ICU.

He had just settled down for the night and was slowly dropping off to sleep when she had come barging in to his office and demanding that he follow her to the ICU, where he knew his latest patient, Gohan, was in residence.

After several failed attempts to get any information out of her, he found himself looking at a medical impossibility; the wound in the onyx-haired boy's side had healed to such an extent that it appeared to be several _weeks_ old, as opposed to the several _hours_ ago that he knew the injury was actually inflicted.

If that wasn't surprising enough, the onyx eyes of Gohan began to open.

Thankfully, the Doctor could forget his bewilderment for the time being and focus on helping Nurse Riseki. She had fainted. Again.

The room came into focus very slowly for Gohan. His head was spinning and he was incredibly tired (not to mention hungry but, as he was half Saiyan, that was a given).

Attempting to get a grip on his current situation, Gohan extended his senses and immediately detected the overpowering scent of disinfectant and medicine. _'I'm in a hospital,then'_ he deduced before noticing the others in the room; a man in a lab coat was fussing over a woman on the ground who was in a nurse's uniform. He didn't recognise either of them so continued his assessment of the room. Suddenly, Gohan felt something collide with his chest and looked down to see a head of bright blonde hair. Naruto.

'_That's right... the mission. I'm in wave country then' _

"You know," Gohan began, his voice slightly raspy from being so dry, "as glad as I am to see your allright Naruto, your kind of pushing all of these needles and stuff further in and it kind of hurts."

Naruto, for is part, looked up at his pseudo elder brother with watery eyes and a massive grin before suddenly becoming very angry and giving the recovered hybrid a good clonk over the head with his fist. "YOU IDIOT!" the blonde screamed as loudly as he possibly could, knowing that would have hurt the other as well.

Ignoring Gohan'sgrumblings over being whacked over the head and screamed at, Naruto continued his tirade:

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, JUMPING IN THE WAY LIKE THAT?"

"I reacted, there wasn't time to think about it."

"OF COURSE THERE WASN'T BUT WHY'D YOUR FIRST THOUGHT BE 'OH LOOK, GIANT LETHAL SWORD LETS SEE WHAT'LL HAPPEN IF I LET IT CUT ME IN HALF, THAT SOUNDS LIKE FUN'!?"

"Naruto, your overreacting. I'm alive so there was nothing to worry about."

"OF COUSE THERE WAS SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" the blonde screamed before forcing himself to calm down a bit. "There was so much blood, and you... you looked like you were about to die, hell according to them" he gestured to the hospital staff in the room "you _did_ die. I can't help thinking that if we'd gotten here even five minutes later... then..." tears began to flow freely down Naruto's whisker marked cheeks now, leaving an uncomfortable feeling of guilt settling in Gohan's stomach.

"You can't just come into my life, look after and care for me like nobody else has before and then nearly leave it entirely in a single moment without so much as a warning and _not _expect me to be worried." Naruto managed to get this out before his sobs took over and he once again buried his face into Gohan's chest.

Gohan held the boy close and rubbed the blonde's back gently as he remembered his father doing this for him numerous times when he was little. Sure enough, in next to no time at all, Naruto was fast asleep. Gohan, also feeling exhausted, gave a large yawn before promptly crashing out as well.

Dr. Asakawa and Nurse Riseki (who, due to Naruto's frantic shouts was now conscious again) gave eachother a glance and left the room, wordlessly agreeing that this was what was best for the boys at the moment their questions could wait.

As the door was shut another figure dropped down from the ceiling, camera in hand. With a bright flash that illuminated a single, visible eye that was curved into an eye-smile.

Kakashi chuckled as, glad though he was his fourth genin student was recovered, all he could think about was the blackmail material he'd just gained over the boys.

'_This'll teach them to dump diapers over their sensei...'_

A/N: Well there it is, hope you guys enjoy! A little short but at least it's something... right?

I'll just go before those of you shooting me death glares decide to take action

See ya (hopefully) soon!

Tsukaria


	13. Chapter 13: Explainations

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

Disclaimer: I own neither DBZ or Naruto. Credit goes to their respective creators and affiliates.

A/N: Had this chapter written for a while now but without the last one it wouldn't have made much sense. I've had to add a section on to the start to link in with the previous chapter but that wasn't a problem really. Special thanks to all who read or reviewed!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 13: Explainations

For the two boys asleep in the hospital bed, their peaceful slumber was disturbed by the light of the sun, now risen, peeking through the gap in the curtains; which meant the ray of light rested against their eyes, thus disturbing them.

Naruto was first to wake and gave a large yawn before sitting up. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around the room but, after finding nothing amiss, turned his attention to the other boy occupying the hospital bed, who was also starting to awaken.

Naruto couldn't believe his luck these days. First he had someone crash into his life (literally), then he'd managed to form a bond with the guy; one that was the strongest he had ever felt before. Then the guy helped him pass the graduation exam; something Naruto had failed at twice before. And, in the blink of an eye, it was all very nearly taken away from him.

It then occurred to the blonde that he knew next to nothing about his self-appointed brother. Naruto knew that Gohan was one of the strongest people he knew about, had an unhealthy obsession with caffeine and was part of an alien species evolved to be some kind of galactic-scale apex predator. Admittedly, that last tidbit of information wasn't exactly a minor thing on the scale of things but Naruto had lived with the guy for over half a year now but still knew nothing about Gohan's past.

'_He's as good at keeping secrets as Kakashi-sensei is' _Naruto mused as he remembered the frustrating lack of information given by the Jounin during their 'meet and greet' on the Academy rooftop.

A tired groan brought the whiskered boy's attention back to his friend, noticing that Gohan was now awake.

"Yo."

The sudden voice in the previously silent room startled both occupants of the bed. Turning to face the source of the voice, they found none other than Kakashi crouched and balanced ever-so-carefully on the railing attached to the foot of the bed, trademark eye-smile and casual wave in place.

"Sorry to break up this touching scene, but I wanted to give you a check over myself, Gohan. I trust the staff here, but your a member of my team so I want to make sure for myself."

The boy in question was somewhat shook by the sincerity in his sensei's voice. Gohan wanted to reply but all that came out was some kind of cross between a yawn and a groan.

Chuckling at the response, Kakashi then turned to Naruto.

"If I'm going to look at Gohan's injury, Naruto, then you'll need to get off the poor kid. His body's probably numb from having you on top of him all night."

Flushing slightly in embarrassment over the situation, Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and complied.

Gohan, taking a hint from the look Kakashi was giving him, then addressed the blonde.

"Get me some coffee would you, Naruto? Can't function properly in the mornings without the stuff after all."

Naruto, slightly suspicious at the well-hidden dismissal, frowned slightly before replying.

"You were kinda nearly cut in half yesterday, you sure you should be drinking that stuff?"

Kakashi gave another little laugh.. "Its not like the coffee will burn through his stitches, Naruto. Actually, some coffee doesn't sound like a bad idea. You can fetch me some as well."

Realising he was outnumbered on the issue (and a little tempted to see if he'd be able to find out what's underneath his sensei's mask), Naruto left the room; sparing a backward glance at Gohan who, in turn, gave the blonde an encouraging nod on the way.

When the door clicked shut, Kakashi dropped the pretence and turned his eye-smile into a stern glare, which he levelled on his student.

"Before I give you a check over, Gohan, let me just say one thing; though I'm grateful you tried to assist me, you were uncharacteristically reckless back there. Frankly, your lucky to even be alive right now. What the hell were you thinking?"

Nonplussed by the glare or the words of admonishment, Gohan gave his response.

"I saved your life, that's what I was thinking about."

Momentarily stunned by the blunt reply, Kakashi thought back to the 'getting to know each other' moment his team and he'd shared, where Gohan had declared he'd lay down his life for those he cared about.

_'I didn't think he'd be _this _serious about that'_ Kakashi thought, before continuing his talk.

"Being _willing_ to lay down your life for another is one thing, but to do so for someone at the first sign of trouble is simply _foolish_, Gohan. Like I've said before during training; give me some credit, I'd already made a clone and substituted myself with it. My life wasn't in any danger at all. Do you have some kind of _death wish_ or something?"

Taking note of the fact that his student refused to meet Kakashi's eyes, the Jounin's own visible eye widened in shock.

"For the love of-, look at me when I'm speaking to you, Gohan." Kakashi ordered.

Reluctantly, Gohan met his sensei's one-eyed gaze.

"What do you expect me to say, Kakashi?" The Jounin flinched at the scathing tone of the boys voice.

"I _want_ to know why you'd throw yourself in the line of fire for _me_ when you have someone who spent all of yesterday evening bawling his _heart out_ over someone who means so much to him being cut down right in front of him!" Was the demand from the copy ninja.

"Because I'm becoming a crutch for him, Kakashi! He's starting to rely on me all the time! At first I didn't really mind because I had never had a friend my own age before, but the longer it's gone on the more I've noticed that I'm becoming a hindrance, I'm only slowing him down..." The hybrid's voice tapered off, having vented his thoughts.

Kakashi gave a long winded sigh, part frustration, part relief. Finally he got to the crux of the problem; Gohan had an inferiority complex about himself and his relationships to others.

_'Why can't I have the _normal _ones'_ Kakashi long-sufferingly thought. "You might think that way. Its not my place to tell you that your right or wrong on this, but it's not my opinion you should be thinking about. Its Naruto's. I haven't known you two all that long, but I can tell you this:" The silver-haired Jounin paused, looking deep into his student's eyes before continuing.

"Naruto thinks the world of you. It's in every move he makes. He looks to you for approval because your the first person to acknowledge him completely. You may think your life is worth nothing but I assure you that to Naruto, it means absolutely everything. Think before risking yourself like this. Its not just you who's affected. Don't be so selfish."

Gohan flinched at the words.

Kakashi, seemingly pleased that his lecture appeared to hit home then broke the tension by giving Gohan another eye-smile. "Now, let's keep this between the two of us then, alright?"

The half-Saiyan looked genuinely surprised at the offer and gave a nod in reply. Tense discussion behind them, Kakashi the gestured for Gohan to show him the injury. Gohan complied and felt Kakashi's assessing gaze on his side.

_'Its incredible!'_ Kakashi mused _'there's hardly any sign of the wound at all... This kid could take on an entire army and be ready to fight again the next day. Guess there's a lot to be said for evolution then,huh?'_

"I'm guessing that this is down to your..." Kakashi paused while attempting to find a phrase that wouldn't cause any offence.

"Superior genetics?" Gohan supplied with a sly little smirk.

Kakashi let out a chuckle "I suppose we could call it that."

Before the two could continue, the door clicked open and Naruto entered, holding two cups of steaming coffee.

"500 Ryo for two cups of lousy coffee? Place is a rip-off..." The blonde grumbled.

"Ah, there you are Naruto," Kakashi greeted "I was starting to wonder where you'd got to."

"I was stuck waiting behind this old lady in the line," The blonde explained, depositing his expensive cargo into Gohan and Kakashi's waiting hands. "She kept demanding to have _everything _in the store checked for poison before she would buy it and _then_ it turned out she'd forgotten what she was there for and left, just like that!" Naruto exclaimed while clicking his fingers to emphasise. "Some people are really weird, huh?"

All three occupants of the room laughed at this. Then Kakashi decided it was time for him to make a move.

"Well, thanks for the coffee, Naruto. I'd better go and get Gohan's discharge papers sorted out and then we'll head to Tazuna's."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After departing the Hospital around an hour afterwards, the trio started walking down towards the building site of the bridge, heading towards Tazuna's house.

Having been..._ unconscious_ upon his initial arrival at the town, Gohan began taking stock of his surroundings; the run-down state of the buildings, the numerous beggars lining the streets (among other, more solicitous kinds that spoke of the desperation of these people) and, in the distance, stretching out into the horizon across the azure ribbon of ocean that circled the island community was their last hope for salvation; a final, desperate, all-or-nothing gambit, was the bridge their client, Tazuna, and by extension Team 7 themselves were responsible for seeing to completion.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" It was Kakashi who'd spoken.

"Sure is." That was Naruto.

"When you think about how many people are depending on us to help them finish it, _everything else_ seems unimportant by comparison, doesn't it? Catching the second meaning behind the statement, Gohan sent his Sensei a half-hearted glare and received a disarming eye-smile in response.

Catching on to the slight tension in the air, Naruto spoke up: "Hey, am I missing something here?"

"No, nothing at all." Kakashi replied. "All right then, let's get going. Tazuna's house is just ahead."

Nodding in agreement, the two Genin followed the lazy Jounin.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Well, there it is, the explanation many of you wanted and a return to the main storyline, which will fully resume next chapter.

I must admit I kinda love writing Kakashi, he's so much fun and can swing between kind and serious in an instant!

As always, do leave a review if you want to, they're always appreciated!

Tsukaria


	14. Chapter 14: Look, no hands!

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

Disclaimer: I own neither DBZ or Naruto. Credit goes to their respective creators and affiliates.

A/N: Well, back for another chapter. Once again special thanks to all who read or reviewed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 14: Look, no hands!

A short while after, the trio arrived at their client's home. The place had obviously seen better days; the wood was starting to rot on the outside. Looks were deceiving however as once they passed through the threshold, they were greeted by a warm, obviously well cared for home.

The feel of the place gave a certain half-Saiyan an unwelcome shiver, reminding him far too much of the life he had left behind.

A young woman, possibly in her mid to late twenty's or maybe slightly older had obviously heard the groups arrival as her head poked out from the end of the corridor that Gohan, Kakashi and Naruto were standing in. Her face lit up into a bright, warm smile upon recognising the Jounin among them.

"Oh, you're back, Kakashi? I thought you were going to the hospital to check up on the others?"

Kakashi gave the woman an eye-smile. "Ah, yes. Well you see I did go to visit them, but I thought that it would be such a shame for them to miss out on your hospitality so..." Kakashi moved to the side, allowing the two Genin behind him to be seen. "I brought them back with me."

The woman blinked a few times before the news seemed to connect to her mind properly.

"You brought a wounded child with you from the hospital?" The question seemed far too innocent sounding to Gohan, who backed away towards the door slightly.

Realising that he hadn't quite explained the situation correctly, Kakashi attempted to explain himself, but before he had the chance, he found himself shoved against a wall as the now hysterical woman barrelled past him to check on his student.

Deciding that escape was futile, Gohan suddenly grabbed a stunned Naruto by the shoulders, using the blonde as a makeshift barrier between himself and the woman.

"Eh, Gohan, what do think your doing?" Naruto demanded.

"Improvising!"

While the miniature argument was happening, the woman had closed in, and now loomed over the boys, casting a dark shadow over the pair. With wide eyes, the duo slowly turned their heads upwards towards the woman's eyes, seeming to glow eerily as the upper half of her face had somehow become shrouded in shadows.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After being subjected to an examination more thorough than what he had likely gone through at the _hospital_, Gohan had finally escaped the clutches of the mad-woman.

Quickly learning that the woman's name was Tsunami (she had told them cheerfully as she gave a certain lazy Jounin a good clobber over the head with a heavy looking book for his 'carelessness'), Gohan was then hurried up to a room with a comfortable looking bed and downy pillows and tucked in so tightly that even Gohan himself didn't think it would be easy to break out of.

Then, before he could so much as offer up a word of protest at the treatment, the door had been shut.

Gohan had a suspicion that the door had also been locked. From the_ outside_. Oh, joy...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It had taken some hefty persuasion on the part of his comrades, but somehow the hybrid had been freed from his impromptu house arrest and _permitted_ to be allowed to exist with the rest of the home's popualtion.

This had it's drawbacks however as Gohan had received a whack across the head from a certain pink banshee for being "Such an _idiot_" before being given a very swift hug from the girl as well.

Glancing across to the other end of the kitchen table, where his team all now sat, Gohan caught the eye of Sasuke. A small respectful nod of acknowledgement was all Gohan received from the Uchiha, but Gohan knew it for what it was; Sasuke's way of saying 'Glad you're back'.

Kakashi cleared his throat, drawing the team's attention to their Sensei.

"Now that the reunion is out of the way, we need to discuss our plan for the remainder of the mission."

"What do you mean, Kakashi-Sensei?" Eyes were drawn to Sakura, who had asked the question. "We just have to help out with finishing the bridge and protecting Tazuna, right?"

"You're not wrong Sakura, but there's still something else we need to consider, or perhaps a better way to put it would be some_one_."

Sasuke then put forth his thoughts: "We've already dealt with everything Gato has thrown at us and Zabuza was taken care of by the hunter from the Hidden Mist, what else do we have to worry about?"

"Wait a minute," Gohan had to stop the discussion there. "what hunter? Can someone fill me in? I'd assumed Kakashi-Sensei had defeated Zabuza in the last meeting with him."

Kakashi then turned his gaze onto Gohan. "I was a little preoccupied during our last encounter" Sasuke gave an amused scoff at that, _'that's a bit of an understatement'_

Kakashi continued; "After you had fallen unconscious, Gohan, Naruto managed to separate him from us. While that happened, a masked person arrived and incapacitated Zabuza. He claimed to be a Hunter from the Village Hidden in the Mist and that he had been assigned the task of tracking down and eliminating Zabuza."

"Yeah, but he killed Zabuza, right?" Naruto intervened "We all saw him go down."

"Yes, we did." Kakashi explained "But the orders of a hunter are to destroy the body of their targets as they contain too many secrets that would be extremely valuable to the right people. This hunter didn't dispose of Zabuza's body."

"But that's no big deal right?" Naruto again "I mean, maybe he just wanted to take the body some-place else to get rid of it? Or maybe his village wanted the body intact for some reason?"

Gohan caught on to Kakashi's line of thought. "Or, maybe the Hunter you met wasn't actually a Hunter at all."

"What do you mean, Gohan?" Sakura asked

"It's quite possible that the person who claimed to be hunting Zabuza could well have been his accomplice." Gohan explained "If that is the case then it's also possible that Zabuza isn't dead at all."

The other three Genin looked somewhere between shocked and horrified at the news.

"Well deduced, Gohan." Kakashi praised. "The Hunter also used Senbon as the method of 'killing'. Senbon are precise weaponry that require a vast degree of medical knowledge in order to use effectively in battle; just a few needles targeted at the right pressure points can kill a target almost instantly. However, they can also be used to induce a near-death like state with just a few minor alterations to the angle of impact. It's likely that in this situation that our Hunter friend decided to force a withdrawal from the situation they were in. By my best guess, we have about one week before the numbness in Zabuza's body will completely fade; and you can be sure he'll come back to finish the job."

"Then what do we do?" Sasuke demanded "As much as I hate to admit it, we're only Genin. We can't fight someone like Zabuza!"

"Hey! Speak for yourself, Sasuke! I could take that guy out in five seconds flat!" Naruto contested loudly.

"Calm down, Naruto." Kakashi instructed "You four won't be dealing with Zabuza anyway. I'll be fighting him. I want the rest of you to try and at least keep his ally off my back while I battle Zabuza."

"You have something in mind then?" Gohan wondered.

An eye-smile was the answer.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"_Tree climbing? What the hell kinda lame training is that?_"

Kakashi had taken his four students outside in order to explain what his plan for the Genin was.

It seemed a certain blonde Genin had taken exception to the training regimen Kakashi was providing them with.

Eye-smile unaffected by the earlier outburst, Kakashi continued his explaination.

"Oh, you seem to be under the mistaken impression that you'll be allowed to use your hands for this exercise, allow me to correct myself. You four will climb these trees," He gestured to the impressively tall populars in front of them. "_without_ the use of your hands."

Kakashi cackled internally at the befuddled expressions on his team's faces.

"You all seem unsure of this. Very well, I'll give you a demonstration." Kakashi began walking towards the trees. "by focusing your chakra to the soles of your feet, it allows you to walk on almost any surface." To the shock of his students, Kakashi then began walking _up _the tree trunk, seemingly defying gravity as he did so, all the while continuing his explanation. "Of course, as it would be incredibly uncomfortable to walk up a tree barefooted, you also have to force the chakra through the rubber on the bottom of your shoes." Kakashi was now standing, upside down, on a branch about thirty feet above them. "Any questions?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After recovering from their initial shock over the sheer impossibility of what Kakashi had just managed to do, the Genin set about the training, with varying degrees of success.

Sakura had managed to reach the required height in next to no time at all and was now sitting on the branch of her tree watching the rest of her team continue the training.

Naruto and Sasuke had managed to somehow turn the training into some kind of competition, marking the heights they reach with slashes of their kunai; with Naruto constantly frustrated by the fact that Sasuke always managed to stay a few inches ahead all the time.

Gohan was also doing the same as the other boys, but it had taken him a while to avoid leaving large shoe impressions into the trees. Sakura turned her attention to the remnants of what could have once been called a tree on the opposite side of the clearing. At least he had improved from his first attempt though.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_FLASHBACK_

_After listening to Kakashi's explanation, Gohan looked at the tree before him. Doing as Kakashi had instructed, Gohan channelled a slow, even release of chakra from his feet. It felt rather like it did when Gohan used his Ki to propel himself through the air so the hybrid felt that this training should be rather simple by comparison._

_Readying himself, Gohan then raced towards the tree. However, after several steps upwards, Gohan heard a creaking sound. Stopping to find out what the odd noise was, Gohan suddenly found himself airbourne and full of splinters as the tree had somehow _imploded.

_Kakashi, who had been watching with interest, caught the stunned boy before he could hit the ground. Kakashi, also slightly stunned at the turn of events, put Gohan on the ground and; with a sweatdrop which belittled his calm voice gave some advice_

"_Why don't you try using _less_ chakra next time?"_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Seemed an appropriate place to end the chapter. The Wave arc should be finished around chapter 20 so bear with me for a bit.

Don't forget to read and review!

Tsukaria


	15. Chapter 15: The Tale of a Lifetime

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

Disclaimer: I own neither DBZ or Naruto. Credit goes to their respective creators and affiliates.

A/N: Alright guys here is number 15! This should end up being longer than my previous recent chapters as there's a lot of explaining in the chapter. Hope that doesn't put too many of you off!

Hope you guys enjoy!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 15: The Tale of a Lifetime.

Kakashi, while keeping an eye on his team as they went about the training, couldn't help but feel proud of the effort they were putting into the task.

Letting his visible eye drift across to one of his Genin, Kakashi had to wonder what was going on in the boy's head. Gohan was obviously dedicated to training; the kid hadn't uttered a single word during all the time they'd been out here. Kakashi figured it must have been mid afternoon, judging by the sun's position, while the team had started at mid morning; several hours ago.

Gohan was certainly a mystery to the Copy Ninja. From what Kakashi had been told by the Hokage, the boy had literally popped into existence in the village and had taken Naruto under his wing, so to speak. Additionally, Gohan seemed to give off an aura of reassuring strength; not that dissimilar from what Kakashi remembered feeling in the presence of his own sensei; the Fourth Hokage.

The onyx-haired boy also had the makings of a fine leader. During the skirmish with the Demon Mist brothers back in the Land of Fire, Kakashi had been impressed by the way Gohan had taken charge of the team flawlessly and efficiently.

Kakashi had also noticed the boy's flaws however. As Kakashi had found out back at the hospital, Gohan seemed to think himself beneath others; at least when it came to life or death situations. Gohan was all too willing to throw himself into the line of fire. A dangerous trait which Kakashi figured was linked to the boy's mysterious past. Apparently, Gohan hadn't even told _Naruto_ much of anything. According to the blonde boy the only information he had been able to discern was what Gohan would mistakenly reveal.

Seeing as how Gohan seemed to have worked his way deep into the blonde's life, Kakashi knew that he had a soft spot for Naruto. The Gohan Kakashi had seen so far was one who exuded confidence; possibly bordering on arrogance at times. At the hospital though Kakashi had seen the other side of Gohan's personality. It reminded Kakashi immensely of when he had seen Naruto around the village in years past. The 'inner' Gohan seemed just was wounded as Naruto had been back then that was why Naruto had latched so tightly to Gohan, Kakashi wondered.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Kakashi decided that the boys had had enough for the day.

"All right then," He called. "That'll do for the day. We'll be helping out at the bridge this evening, so go wash up and I'll go see about getting some food sorted."

"But Kakashi-sensei! I've almost got this tree climbling stuff down!" Naruto complained.

The blonde had indeed improved from this morning, having managed to reach about halfway up the tree he had been assigned. Pausing to complain had obviously not been a good idea though as Naruto's concentration was divided, thus causing him to lose his grip on the tree.

Kakashi went to intercept the blond and prevent him from crashing face first into the ground, but Gohan had already beaten him to it. Kakashi was impressed by the display of speed from the hybrid.

"Case in point, Naruto. You'll be able to continue tomorrow anyway." Kakashi argued before heading out of the clearing the group was in. Sakura and Sasuke quickly followed (or, more accurately, Sasuke left and Sakura followed her crush).

This left Gohan and Naruto alone in the clearing. The blonde had also yet to be placed on his feet by the half-saiyan; who simply stood there with a mildly amused expression. Naruto, starting to get antsy at being held in place decided to try and expedite his release.

"Hey, Gohan. You can put me down now. It's not like I'm gonna hurt myself if I fall from here." Naruto pointed out, gesturing to the two feet or so distance between himself and the soft, earthen ground.

Gohan's expression morhed from it's previously amused state to a sly grin.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Naruto. _Who_ was it who always used to trip over their own feet because they couldn't simply _walk_ to Ichiraku's and ended up flat on their face?"

Naruto's face showed the annoyance that was building.

"Hey!" The blonde retorted. "That was like _one_ time..." A raised eyebrow was the only response he got. "Okay, _twice._" Naruto relented.

The eyebrow remained in place.

"...Three times?" he tried before giving in. "AHH FINE! You made your point. I'm accident prone!" Naruto sighed in frustration before an equally sly grin slipped onto his own face. "But at least I've never been almost sliced in two!"

Gohan conceded that point but didn't relinquish his grip.

Naruto tried again; "C'mon lemme down already! Your arms have gotta be tired by now, I'm not exactly light as a feather y'know."

Gohan's grin widened.

"Actually," Gohan started before suddenly tossing the blonde jinchuuriki several feet into the air as if Naruto weighed nothing at all. "Your not that heavy at all!"

"WHOAHHH!" Naruto exclaimed as he rose into the air. As he had not expected this, Naruto was unprepared for the inevitable descent as well and as a result once again landed in the waiting arms of his self proclaimed brother.

Collecting himself the blonde turned a fierce glare onto Gohan, who took one look at the exasperated face of the jinchuuriki and started to laugh. It was something the hybrid hadn't allowed himself the pleasure of since leaving his own world behind. Sure, he'd given some amused chuckles from time to time but never an honest to goodness full on laugh.

Naruto beamed at the sight of Gohan finally laughing and joined in as well. Before long, the two were rolling on the ground clutching their stomachs as the laughs started to hurt. Eventually calming down, the pair decided to head back to Tazuna's as their stomachs simultaneously protested at the distinct lack of sustenance the two had yet to imbide. Dragging themselves up off the ground the boys then raced out of the clearing.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Arriving back at the house, the pair were greeted by their squad-mates with demands to know what had taken them so long (Sakura), disapproving stares (Kakashi) and plain refusal to acknowledge they existed (Sasuke).

After being seated at the table by a mother-henning Tsunami (The woman had already asked three times if Gohan was well enough to be out of bed; to which Gohan gave a polite "Yes ma'am" which was betrayed by an increasingly noticeable eye twitch), Team seven found themselves enjoying a home-cooked meal which had been carefully prepared by the woman. The dish itself was nothing too fancy; a selection of flavoured rices and various sauces, but the care put into the meal certainly added to their enjoyment of the food.

However, unbeknownst to a certain half-saiyan, a single solitary tear had worked its way down his unmarked right cheek.

The first to notice had been Tsunami, who had immediately thought her food was the cause.

"Oh, my! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to be too spicy but, silly me, I'm so used to the spice now I can't tell if it's too hot for someone unused to it. I tried to make it as mild as I could but-"

Confusedly, Gohan cut in. "No, not at all. There's nothing wrong with the food at all. It's quite delicious in fact. What made you think that?"

By now, the conversation had caught the attention of everyone at the table, including Naruto who sat on Gohan's right. He paused his inhalation of the food in front of him and turned his head to look at the confused hybrid. Swallowing the large amount of rice currently stuffed between his cheeks, the blond put down his eating utensils and gently wiped a finger across a startled Gohan's cheek.

"Your crying." Naruto explained, showing the evidence - his now wet finger - to Gohan; who studied the appendage with something akin to disbelief before realising the familiar feeling of his tear ducts producing the offending liquid along with the sudden dryness of his throat.

Quickly realising both the reason and direction things were taking, the boy quickly asked to be excused before he swiftly fled the house.

The others, somewhat unnerved by the suddenness of Gohan's retreat were quite worried about him.

Feeling several sets of eyes swivel into position onto him, Naruto didn't need a verbal instruction and also asked to be excused before racing after his brother though at a more sedate pace (until he left the house that was).

Trying to steer away from the somewhat bizarre moment, Kakashi attempted to steer the conversation onto another topic.

"So, what does everyone think about the weather lately?"

Seeing that everyone at the table was now looking at the jounin as if he had randomly grown several extra heads, Kakashi tried to diffuse the awkwardness with his patented eye-smile. Still feeling the looks even though he could not see them, Kakashi let out a nervous laugh as several sweatdrops started to form on himself as well as the other occupants of the room.

'_That could have gone better...'_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Naruto finally caught up to his wayward adoptive sibling in a grassy clearing several miles away from the town.

Looking into the clearing, the blonde could see that Gohan was sat on a small rocky outcrop that had a wonderful view of the ocean, now a vibrantly warm shade of orange due to the setting sun.

Naruto slowly walked up to the half-saiyan, coming to sit next to him on the outcrop. The two sat in companionable silence for a while. Naruto couldn't help but feel relaxed as he looked out onto the open ocean before him. The smell of the sea air was one that was unfamiliar to the jinchuuriki, as was the song of the gulls which called the vast expanse their home. The gentle breeze caressed the blonde's skin and waded it's exploring fingers through his bright blonde hair. Naruto supposed it was a somewhat primal thing that he was so enticed by the ocean. Something about exploring what was beyond the great blue divide between lands was probably embedded within the psyche of all humanity, the inbuilt curiosity that had made them want to leave the lands of their ancestors and settle elsewhere just to see if they could.

A wistful smile graced the boy's whisker-marked cheeks. If it hadn't been for the boy sat next to him, Naruto would never have been able to appreciate something so simple. Goahn just had this _way _of managing to take the simple things in life and explain them in such an eloquent way that it made hem into somethin beautiful, something to be cherished. Naruto remembered the first time Gohan had shown him the view from the top of the Hokage Monument back at Konoha. Naruto had been up there several times before Gohan had even arrived in the village; mostly to deface the monument themselves. In fact, Naruto remembered that he'd done just that on the day his brother had arrived. That day Goahn had taken Naruto there, the half-saiyan had asked Naruto what he could see...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Flashback_

"_Huh? What d'ya mean what can I see? The village of course, duh!"_

_Standing next to the blonde, Gohan chuckled slightly at the answer._

"_That's not what I mean, Naruto." Goahn explained. "Look closer and you'll notice you can see many of the villagers from here." Gohan pointed to one of the market streets of the village which was now bustling with traders and customers._

"_Everyone of the people down there has their own individual story. All of us are shaped by what we experience, Naruto. We _all_ have our _own_ story. It could be said that the story is written by the time we come into the world, that everything is all connected together in a 'grand scheme' as it were. That all of the people you see before you are contributing to something greater than each of their individual stories; a kind of 'grand novel of life', if you will."_

_Naruto looked at Gohan with wide confused eyes, not quite grasping what was being said to him._

_Gohan smiled and continued. "While the thought of that is comforting to some, I, myself, am inclined to disagree."_

"_But why?" The blonde asked "The idea that everyone is connected to each other sounds ideal though, doesn't it? I mean, if that's the case everyone should be able to understand each other, right? There'd be no need for fighting if everyone could understand everyone else."_

_Gohan gave Naruto a proud look. "That's true. If there could be universal understanding between all the peoples of the world, conflict would be eradicated. However, while I believe that this is something to strive towards; or rather it is the only thing one should strive towards no matter how small or large the scale, I don't believe that such a thing as 'Universal Understanding' exists."_

"_Huh, how can you say that?!" Naruto demanded._

"_Let's put it this way;" Gohan began. "For example, if such a thing as Universal Understanding exists why are people punished by law for say, theft?"_

"_That's obvious! 'Cos its wrong!" The blonde insisted._

"_By the laws of the land you are correct. Theft is a crime and people are punished for it. But, consider this; what of the man who steals from a shopkeeper in order to provide for his family when he hasn't the means to purchase the goods himself? Should he let his family starve in order to protect the profits of the shop owner?"_

_Naruto considered this for a while, unable to differentiate between the conflicting arguments of right and wrong in the two perspectives._

_Gohan continued in lieu of a response. "If Universal Understanding existed, then there would be no conflict of interest in the situation. The shopkeeper would have understood the plight of the thief and not pressed charges. Likewise, the thief most likely would have asked the shopkeeper for help rather than actually steal the goods as he would have understood that the shopkeeper's own family depends on him making a profit from his goods to provide for them."_

"_But that kinda stuff doesn't happen in real life," Naruto realised "because no one can see past their own situation."_

"_Exactly." Gohan agreed. "Life is chaotic by it's very nature. True harmony is a difficult thing to achieve, no matter how hard one tries or how great the one who pursues it is."_

_Naruto looked crestfallen. "So... are you saying that there's no use trying? That its all pointless?"_

"_Quite the opposite actually." Gohan countered. "What is most beautiful about life, is that there will always be those who'll strive to make things better for others." He once again repeated his first question to the blonde._

"_Tell me Naruto, when you look down there, what can you see?"_

_Naruto once again looked and noticed a pair of shoppers who had obviously crashed into each other. But, instead of shouting at each other for being careless, they both seemed to apologise before helping each other gather the displaced goods._

_Suddenly, it made sense to Naruto, who gave his answer confidently._

"_Life."_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coming out of the memory, Naruto managed to tear his eyes away from the vista before him and turn his attention to Gohan.

The blond noticed that there were small but steady steams of tears flowing down the others face, indicating the sadness. This was offset by the stoic expression on Gohan's face however, as the hybrid continued to stare into the horizon.

Carefully, Naruto started the conversation.

"You OK?"

A small, almost invisible smile took up residence on the half-saiyan's face.

"Yeah, I think so." The reply was steady, calm, as if the boy wasn't crying at all.

"Want to talk about it?"

Gohan turned his head to face the jinchuuriki.

"Guess I owe you that much, don't I?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to!" Naruto backtracked "I can wait as long as you need to. It's no problem!" The blonde gave Gohan a bright, honest smile.

"It's alright." The hybrid reassured. "I think I need to tell _someone_ and I don't think there's anyone else I'd rather trust with this."

Turning back to the peaceful backdrop, Gohan gave a sigh.

"Where should I begin?" It was a rhetorical question so no answer was given. "Well, you already know about my ancestry, that's one thing off the list. I guess I had best start with my childhood."

"I was born in a place called Mount Paozu to my parents, Chi-Chi, my mother and Goku, my father. It was through my father that I obtained my Saiyan genes. He'd been sent to the planet as an infant himself; moments before the destruction of the Saiyan homeworld: Planet Vegeta..."

Gohan went on to explain the struggles of his Grandfather, Bardock, who had struggled against impossible odds in an attempt to save his people. Goahn himself had heard the tale from Vegeta while they were busy gathering the dragonballs.

Gohan told Naruto of all the trials and tribulations he had faced before he's even reached his sixth year of life. He told Naruto of his kidnapping at the hands of his own uncle, Raditz, and the subsequent death of his father in the battle to rescue Gohan. He told the blond of the dragonballs; the mythical stones with the power to grant the one who collected all seven any wish.

He told Naruto of his struggle in the wilderness while he prepared for the arrival of Vegeta and Nappa, of his brutal training with his first sensei, Piccollo, and his shame at cowering on the battlefield; allowing his sensei to die in his place.

He then told tales of his trip to the planet Namek, encountering a vast variety of life (mostly hostile as it turned out) and witnessing atrocities, the likes of which surpassed even the most brutal shinobi battle, at the hands of Freiza; the cruel galactic tyrant who had exterminated the Saiyan race simply because they could _one day_ become a threat.

He told of the agony of having lost his father for a second time when the planet Namek had been destroyed, only to find out that he was alive but had _refused _to come home.

He told Naruto of the androids and the Future that Trunks had experienced. One in which Gohan had given his life for his student, as Piccollo had before. He explained the intense training he underwent in the three years they had to prepare for the android's arrival; only to find out that he _still wasn't strong enough to help_.

He told Naruto of Cell, the so called 'Ultimate Life Form' that feasted on the essence of other living creatures to survive. He told Naruto of the times he'd arrived too late to help the civillians whom Cell had targeted and how he had to listen to their screams of pain as they were disolved from the insude and absorbed.

He told the blonde of his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber so that he could move past his own limits and become a Super Saiyan. He told Naruto how he had been forced to battle Cell at the age of eleven while his own _Father_ gave the abomination a Senzu bean to heal it.

He told Naruto how he had become lost in his own power after acending beyond Super Saiyan and forced the creature to suffer at his hands. He also told of how scared he had been that it had felt so _good_ to infict pain and torment on Cell, that it had been a rush unlike any other.

He finished by explaining his Father's _oh-so-noble_ decision to remain dead after sacrificing himself yet again for the people of the world; believing _himself_ to be the cause of everyone's problems with his home. Gohan told the blonde how he had begged and begged his father to return that Gohan _needed_ his father, but had been refused at every turn. He told Naruto how the looks of sympathy his _father's friends _had given him thatday had quickly morphed into that of blame and loathing. He explained that even his own _mother_ had blamed him for her husband's death.

"I just... couldn't take it any more, the looks the sneers behind my back... So I decided that I'd go somewhere else. With the help of Bulma, Vegeta and Piccollo, I gathered the Dragonballs and made a wish. I wanted to be somewhere where I would be needed; where there would be someone to appreciate me for who I am and not what I've done in the past. I wanted a second chance."

Gohan turned to look at the blonde.

"Well, you know the rest right?"

Gohan suddenly would himself being drawn into a hug. He looked at Naruto and saw the unshed tears there.

"Thats-" Naruto tried to speak but his voice seized up.

The blond simply couldn't believe that Gohan had gone through all that and come out the other side with his sanity. Naruto didn't think that a word of what the half-saiyan had told him was a lie. What hurt the jinchuuriki the most was that the tale had been told with such a dull _acceptance_ that it simply couldn't be a falsehood.

Naruto once again spoke, finding that his voice had returned.

"I don't care what those _bastards_ where you're from blame you for that, I don't care that you think you somehow _deserve_ punishment for something beyond your control. If it had been _me_ fighting that Cell guy, I wouldn't have stopped giving that _thing_ a taste of it's own medicine no matter what _anyone_ said to me."

Gohan looked up at Naruto with surprise.

"I care about _you,_" The blonde insisted "If it makes me selfish that I'm glad you're here now then I'll happily be the most self-centred son of a bitch the world's ever known. What's clear to me now is that we both need each other right now. I'm never gonna blame you for anything stupid like that and I'll always be there to take your side. I never go back on my word."

Gohan felt the tears he'd been holding back fall freely now as he clutched to the other boy desperately.

Gohan may once have had a family but this real bond that had been forged between the two surpassed that.

This was Universal Understanding.

Naruto also let his tears fall and tightened his hold on his brother, his _family _and made a vow there and there that he'd never let anyone else suffer what he and Gohan had to endure.

Far away and out of sight, a young man with feminine features had watched the scene. Looking at those two, he had hope for the future.

On the Horizon, the sun finally sank below the waves of the ocean, signifying the setting of one day and the beginning of the next.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Well, there it is! Lot's of touchy-feely stuff and now Naruto knows the whole story of Gohan's past!

Hope to see you next time guys!

Tsukaria


	16. Chapter 16: Machinations Afoot

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

Disclaimer: I own neither DBZ or Naruto. Credit goes to their respective creators and affiliates.

A/N: Kind of a filler chapter, but it marks the start of where my story begins deviating slightly from the cannon storyline.

Hope you enjoy!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 16: Machinations Afoot.

Back in the Land of Fire, a certain pipe smoking old man was sitting behind his desk.

Hiruzen glared balefully at the humongous pile of paperwork all around him. The Hokage, as usual, had ignored the problem of the mounting workload until the last minute. A grave error on his part. Now, he had the impossible task on reading over 5,000 pages of assorted petitions, mission requests and crime reports in half an hour.

Inwardly, the Hokage cursed his predecessor, Tobirama Senju; the Second Hokage. Hiruzen was convinced that the decision to hand over the hat was, at least in part, driven by the need to escape the _never ending_ paperwork.

The Hokage collected himself. Blaming his teacher for this was only eating up time that could be better spent tackling the mountain in front of him. Resigning himself to his fate, he licked his thumb and then pulled the topmost sheet of paper onto the desk in front of him. Glancing at the page, the Hokage noticed it was a petition to have '_The Demon Brat_'; as the page stated, exiled.

Sighing long-sufferingly, Hiruzen disposed of the petition into the waste bin beside him. As the Hokage reached for another page, there was a knock at his office door.

Celebrating on the inside for having been rescued from the nightmare before him, the Hokage quickly sealed away the offending paperwork inside a scroll he kept for such events. Hiruzen had received it as a gift from his own student, Jiraiya of the Sannin.

"_At least make it _look_ like your doing your job, old man!" _The sage had said.

It had turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. While it gave the outward appearance that Hiruzen had indeed completed the work it was all too tempting to simply leave it sealed up permanently.

"Enter." Hiruzen called.

One of the aides at the reception desk – looking quite nervous – was now standing in the doorway.

"Ah, Itaka, to what do I owe the pleasure of your lovely presence here?" The Hokage inquired. The nervous woman flushed slightly before replying.

"You have a visitor,sir. Its-"

"I am more than capable of introducing myself, girl." The voice of the 'guest' cut her off. Recognising it, Hiruzen cursed under his breath. He didn't need _this_ today.

"Its good to see you old friend." The Third tightly greeted. "You may go now, Itaka."

The woman gave a respectful bow before heading back down the corridor. As she left, another figure took her place in the doorway. There, stick in hand, was one of the Hokage's old team mates and also the source of his biggest headaches for quite some time. Danzo Shimura.

"As it is to see you Hiruzen." The pleasantry was polite in tone, but there was no mistaking the undercurrent of sarcasm hidden within.

Put simply, this wasn't a social call.

Keeping up the façade for the moment, Hiruzen gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk.

"Have a seat, Danzo. You seem to be leaning on your support quite heavily, it would be best to take the strain off your legs." _Two can play at this game, Shimura._

Bristling ever so slightly at the veiled insult, Danzo refrained from commenting but accepted the invitation nonetheless. They sat in a tense silence for a while, neither willing to make the first move. Even in a war of words one must be careful after all.

Deciding to ask the question they both knew he would, Hiruzen began.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Danzo?" There was only a thin coating of pleasantness hiding the frustration in the Hokage's voice.

Deciding to skip straight to the point, Danzo dispensed with the pleasantries.

"I understand you have sent the nine-tails on a mission _outside_ the Land of Fire."

The Hokage looked at his old friend warily. '_As I thought. This is about Naruto' _

"I have." If Danzo wanted to be blunt, Hiruzen would oblige.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Danzo questioned "You know _that_ group will soon be making a move do you not?"

"I wasn't aware you would have such up to date information on this, Danzo." The Hokage responded, going on the offensive. "I don't believe that I've actually briefed the Elder Council on the matter yet as I have only received the information myself a few hours ago. I would _hate_ to think your hiding any sources from the village. It would be most... _unwise_" To his credit, the bandaged Elder didn't even so much as flinch at the threat.

"I thought it was protocol to inform the Elders of any potential threat to the Jinchuuriki _immediately."_

It was a stalemate.

Having little choice but to drop the topic, the Third moved back to their initial conversation.

"Team Seven was given a mission in the Land of Waves. While a C-rank in classification it is simply an escort mission. I must stress that the decision to send them was based on the recommendation of the Squad-leader, Kakashi Hatake." Flagging up the lazy Jounin couldn't hurt. After all, if Hiruzen kicked the bucket and Jiraiya declined, Kakashi was a good candidate for the seat of Hokage. Even Danzo, who desired the title of Hokage himself, couldn't argue with the judgement of one of Konoha's finest.

"I am merely looking out for both the boy _and_ the village." Danzo rebuffed. "While the boy has improved lately he is still woefully icompetent for one of his station. If you had let me raise the boy-"

"As a tool, you mean? A weapon for you to use in order to wrest the hat from atop my head?" The Hokage cut in, angrily.

"I would teach the boy how to best serve for the betterment of all." It wasn't a denial, but was deliberately vague so that no culpability could be placed on the Elder.

"We've had this argument time and again over the years, Danzo. There is little point to this. My mind has not changed a single time in twelve years."

Conceding the argument for the time being, Danzo moved on.

"Tell me, Hiruzen, about the one known as Gohan."

Slightly shocked at the sudden change in direction of the conversation, the Hokage paused for a moment. '_what are you up to, Danzo?'_

"Gohan, what about him?"

"I understand that he arrived in the village through unexplained circumstances. Not only that, he has shown to be violent to the civilians and even the esteemed Kakashi."

"The civilians struck first, it has already been ruled as self-defence. As for Kakashi, he decided not to press charges on the boy." Hiruzen countered. "He also assisted in apprehending the traitor, Mizuki, if you recall. Why the sudden interest? The boy has been a resident of the village for several months now."

"While temperamental, he shows great promise." Danzo explained. "The boy even bested the last Uchiha at the academy. His file contains many commendations from the teachers there. Additionaly, he his the reason the nine-tails is somewhat competent now."

The Hokage was slightly unnerved by this. He could see that Danzo wished to acquire Gohan for the Foundation. It was a very shrewd move as well; Danzo had likely calculated that if he could sway the half-saiyan to his cause, Naruto would follow, effectively killing to birds with a single, well-placed stone.

Something else had Hiruzen on edge though. Why would Danzo reveal his plot before he had done anything? It was the height of foolishness to reveal your stratagem to the opponent before the game had even begun.

"I'll get to the point, Hiruzen. I want the boy."

"You overreach yourself, what makes you think I'll just sign him up for the Foundation? Your plot is clear, Danzo." The Hokage stated.

Danzo simply smiled, however.

"The reason I am letting you know, Hiruzen is because I know that you'll try to avert this from happening." The Elder stood and headed for the doorway. Just before he exited, Danzo turned to face the Hokage.

"I want to see the look on your face when you fail."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Danzo sure can be blunt sometimes, huh?

I've been thinking about the direction the story should take and had several different plot twists in mind. I wanted to avoid the standard Orochimaru only twists and figured this would be an acceptable new direction as I have yet to come across a story with Danzo being interesed in Gohan.

As always, please leave a review if you'd like.

Tsukaria


	17. Chapter 17: Set in Motion

A Hero's Resolve by Tsukaria

Disclaimer: I own neither DBZ or Naruto. Credit goes to their respective creators and affiliates.

A/N: Hey again! I'm glad you seem to like my little plot twist. Just to let you guys know, I plan on keeping the storyline mainly intact until at least after the Chuunin exams.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 17: Set in Motion.

The following morning, after Gohan and Naruto had returned to Tazuna's, the two were given a 'stern talking to' by Kakashi for skipping out on their duties the previous evening. Truthfully though, Kakashi was happy to see that the half-saiyan seemed a lot more comfortable in himself than he had been since the mission had begun.

Sitting down around the table for their morning meal, Team Seven were chatting amongst themselves (that meaning of course that Sakura was pestering her beloved Sasuke for a date while Naruto was loudly boasting that he'd _"get that tree climbing thing done today for sure" _while Gohan merely sat in anticipation for the food – he had skipped yesterday's dinner after all and he _was _part Saiyan – and Kakashi was reading his little orange book).

Before the promised food arrived though, they were interrupted by a quiet voice.

"Why do you guys even bother?"

The question had been asked by the young boy who now stood in the doorway. Gohan could see a likeness in the boy to Tsunami, her son perhaps? They'd yet to meet the boy so far as apparently he rarely ventured out of his room.

It was, of course, Naruto who responded first.

"What do you mean 'why do we bother?' Its our mission of course. And who the hell are _you_ anyway?"

"Naruto, that's Inari. He's Tsunami's son." Sakura angrily whispered to the blonde Genin.

"I don't care _who _he is!" the jinchuuriki exclaimed.

"Naruto, calm down a little." Kakashi instructed.

The boy, Inari, persisted. "You guys are just gonna get killed by Gato's thugs anyway, you might as well just go back where you came from."

While Naruto glared at the impudent child, it was Sasuke who responded.

"Listen kid, we may not look it but we're more than most common thugs can handle. We'll take care of this for you seeing as you people can't even protect yourselves."

Inari seemed to become angry as he then turned and stormed out of the room.

Kakashi then turned to the Uchiha, who hadn't moved from his sitting position while this had all gone on. "Sasuke, there was no need for that."

"Sasuke is partly right though" Gohan interrupted to everyone's surprise, especially Sasuke, who opened his dark eyes to look at the hybrid. "These people _couldn't_ handle the problem themselves. That's why they came to us for help. But," Gohan continued, now turning to look at the Uchiha. "It speaks of their _wisdom_, not cowardice that they asked for assistance. There aren't any Shinobi in the Land of Waves, Sasuke. Don't judge them too harshly."

Sasuke gave a small glare but declined to respond opting for "Hn.", a dismissal of the topic.

Tsunami then entered, bringing the team their breakfast.

"I saw Inari running to his room just now, did something happen?"

"Ah, no. Not really, just a simple misunderstanding is all." Kakashi explained, attempting to deflect the conversation that would likely follow. Taking charge of the situation, Kakashi then started giving his team orders.

"All right, we have about half an hour before we get started on the training again. I want everyone to be ready by then." He then addressed the boys on his team: "Gohan, Sasuke and Naruto, you three will continue from where you left off yesterday. Sakura," The jounin looked towards the girl. "As you have completed the exercise, you will be heading to the bridge with me, we'll be helping with construction and guarding Tazuna."

The pinkette groaned loudly. Suddenly, tree climbling sounded awfully good.

"Am I understood?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." was the response from each of his Genin.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In Konoha, the Hokage was busy reading and signing the paperwork that was due yesterday.

Truthfully, Hiruzen was unnerved by the blatant challenge issued by his old friend. If the confidence Danzo had yesterday was anything to go by, he already had a plan in motion.

_'But' _the Hokage thought _'it might not be that simple'_.

It could be a bluff on Danzo's part, who may want Hiruzen himself to make the first move. Why, though, the Third didn't know. Perhaps Danzo wanted Team seven split up, hoping Hiruzen might decide to separate the boys in order to prevent Naruto from following Gohan should the hybrid be swayed.

Or, perhaps this was nothing more than a tactic to spur the Hokage into panic and thereby attempt to justify a dismissal on grounds of imcompetency.

Knowing Danzo as Hiruzen did, it was likely _all_ of the above along with several other backup plans. There _was _a reason the Third kept Danzo around after all, he could at times be useful.

Pausing in his charge on the mountain of paper, Hiruzen decided that it might be wise to send a message to Kakashi. Danzo might have something planned for the mission Team seven were on.

Pulling out a blank scroll from within one of the drawers of his desk, the Hokage began to write the message. After he was finished, he rolled up the scroll and sealed it.

"Tsubame." He called.

Seeming to melt into the room from the wall, one of the Hokage's ANBU bodyguards answered the call.

"Yes, my lord?" She asked.

The Hokage stood and turned away from the ANBU, looking out to the village. He then raised his left hand, showing her the scroll.

"I want this delivered to Kakashi Hatake immediately. Use the fastest carrier bird we have, I would like for him to receive it before the end of the day."

The ANBU walked up to the Hokage before accepting the scroll. When the Third turned again to sit back down at the desk, she was gone without a trace.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In Wave, Sakura was busy helping out with the construction of the bridge. She had noticed though that her sensei wasn't actually helping _at all_.

When she called him out on it though all she received was a confused look like that of a puppy – complete with the slight tilt of the head – and a reply of "But Sakura, _someone _has to supervise."

Growing angry again and nearly dropping the crate she was attempting to carry, she refocused on her work, all the while cursing her good chakra control.

Kakashi on the other hand was having a wonderful time. He had taken the opportunity to re-read the 'Icha-Icha' series again and was just getting to the good bits of the second book when he heard the familiar screech of a messenger bird.

Looking up, Kakashi realised it was heading toward him. Lifting an arm to provide a perch for the bird, he waited until it landed before using his other hand to untie the message. Once it was removed, the bird once again took flight, telling Kakashi that a response wasn't needed.

Looking at the scroll in his hand, Kakashi noticed the seal on the contents. Releasing it, he carefully opened it and unravelled the scroll.

_Kakashi,_

_I hope things are going well on the mission, I haven't yet received a report but trust that you'll brief me in full upon your return._

_In Konoha however there has been a most unusual and frankly disturbing turn of events._

_Yesterday, I received a visit from Danzo Shimura; my former team-mate and a member of the Elder Council. I'm sure you are familiar with the name. Danzo inquired about your mission, initially asking whether it was wise to allow Naruto to leave the Land of Fire, for reasons I am sure you understand._

_At first I admit I thought he was simply there to gain guardianship over the boy. Its nothing new so I wasn't worried. _

_Then he asked about Gohan._

_This could be trouble, Kakashi. As I am sure you are aware no one in the village is sure of how powerful Gohan is, not even us. For Danzo to take an interest means he sees something in the boy that can be moulded to suit his goals. I know Danzo well, he won't waste his time with those he believes he cannot convince. Given Naruto's attachment to the boy I need not stress what could happen if Gohan should indeed be recruited. We cannot allow Naruto to fall into Danzo's clutches._

_Danzo was so confident that he even openly challenged me to prevent this from happening. Though indeed I do hope that Gohan will not be swayed by Danzo's ideals, this does present us with an opportunity. Danzo has never openly revealed a potential Foundation recruit to me before. He has always approached them himself. Shameful though it is to admit, I know nothing about the_

_Foundation other than the fact it exists._

_With Danzo declaring an interest though, we might be able to get one of our own on the inside._

_I want you to try and find out how Gohan would feel about this. I won't force this on the boy but I think if he wishes to help us on this it could prove invaluable in putting an end to Danzo's schemes._

_Also, be careful Kakashi, Danzo might already have something in motion that may involve your mission. It might be nothing but take extra precautions, just to make sure._

_I wish you success on your mission._

_Hiruzen Sarutobi, _

_Third Hokage of Konohagakure; The Village Hidden in the Leaves. _

Closing up the scroll and then setting it alight with a quick fireball, Kakashi stood and called out to the pink haired genin.

"Sakura, I'm going to check to see how the boys are coming along. Keep up the good work!"

The girl whirled around and yelled after the retreating jounin.

"Don't just leave me here you lazy excuse for a sensei!"

Without turning around, Kakashi gave a lazy wave with one hand.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kakashi walked at an unhurried pace to the clearing in which his male genin were busy training. Upon his arrival, the copy ninja stayed out of sight to observe the scene. Looking at the boys before him, Kakashi had to admit he was impressed.

It appeared that Naruto and Sasuke had managed to complete the training but had decided to continue practicing as the two were currently walking steadily up and down the trunks of the large trees.

Gohan on the other hand; well Kakashi had to say that the hybrid was dedicated to training. The boy was currently doing the same as the other two genin; ascending and descending the tree at a steady pace, but with one alteration – Gohan was using his hands only, meaning he was performing a handstand and then hand walking up and down the tree.

That boy never ceased to astound Kakashi with his ingenuity. Kakashi supposed learning to stick your hands to surfaces could be just as effective, especially in a free fall situation.

It was then that Kakashi walked out into the clearing.

"Well, things seem to be coming along well here." His statement drew the attention of the boys, causing them to look his way. "Seeing as you all seem to have mastered this exercise, have a ten minute break, then we'll head over to the bridge."

The boys jumped from the trees and began heading out of the clearing.

"Gohan, a word if you please." Kakashi called out.

Naruto turned to look at Kakashi, about to insist that he remain but was cut off by Gohan.

"It's alright. Go on ahead. This shouldn't take long."

The blonde did, somewhat reluctantly, head back to Tazuna's with Sasuke.

With it being just Gohan and Kakashi remaining, Gohan decided to find out what this was about.

"So, what do you need to speak to me about, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Gohan," Kakashi began unsure of how to phrase what he was about to say. "Tell me, have you come into contact with a man called Danzo in Konoha?"

Gohan looked slightly confused at the seemingly random topic of conversation before noticing the serious glint in the jounin's eye.

"The Elder Council member? Always bandaged, carries a cane?" Gohan inquired.

"That's him."

"A few times..." Gohan began. "Mostly it was in passing, Naruto and I would sometimes see him in the village. He was one of the few who actually says hello to us."

Kakashi continued pressing the boy for information. "Any other meetings? I need to know, Gohan."

"Orders from above?" Gohan asked, to which he received a nod. "Well... There was one time. About two months in to my stay in Konoha, he observed one of my training sessions with Naruto..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Flashback_

"_Calm down, Naruto. You're not thinking about your movements, it makes you easy to read."_

"_I'm trying!"_

"_No you think you are but what your actually doing is wildly throwing out blows hoping they'll connect. You need to concentrate."_

_Danzo Shimura was not normally one to take an interest in the training regimes of potential genin from the academy. But this _Gohan_ was a mystery to the Elder._

_From his vantage point amongst the trees of the training ground, Danzo could see the figures of Gohan and the nine-tails boy._

_Danzo had always cursed the fool Hiruzen for not allowing the boy to be raised under the Elder's guidance. Could the old fool not see that to let the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki roam free meant losing the village's greatest asset go to waste? Danzo held no illusions that all the other villages would never let their greatest weapons do as they pleased. Such power needed to be kept on a tight leash to protect both the people and the jinchuuriki themselves._

_Noticing the boys once more, Danzo could see that the nine-tails boy genuinely respected the dark haired child. Indeed, as Gohan calmed the blonde down it was easy to read from the boy's face that he was loving the attention. _

_This spoke of opportunity to the warhawk. Looking on he noticed Gohan positioning the blonde's limbs in an attempt to instruct the boy._

"_OK, Naruto. I want you to go through the motions I showed you. Slowly. You need to get the motions absolutely perfect before we start speeding you up to full combat pace."_

"_Like this?"_

"_Almost, look your left arm keeps dropping. Try to keep it in place until you absolutely have to move it. You'll let your opponent in otherwise."_

"_How about now?"_

"_No, no. Look, I'll show you one more time. Pay close attention to my left side and think about the movements you were doing."_

"_Oh, I get it. So_ that's_ where it needs to go!"_

"_Exactly. Do you want to run through the motions a few times together? Just so you can keep an eye on what you should be doing."_

"_Yeah, sure!"_

_Danzo almost chuckled at the sight. _Almost._ Gohan seemed to have the patience of a saint to deal with the blonde. Watching the pair, the Elder noticed how Gohan's movements seemed almost fluid, as if his body was performing the kata automatically. Before long Naruto was practising by himself and Danzo decided to make himself known, emerging from the depths of the forest. It seemed as though he would need to play the part of the kind old man for the moment, no matter how distasteful it was to the elder. _

"_Ah, hello there boys."_

_As expected, the greeting was enough to throw the blonde off from his movements. The other however-_

"_You took your time revealing yourself."_

_The voice had come from behind him. Danzo then noticed that the cool edge of a kunai was pressed against his throat. _'Impressive...'

"_You really thought to sneak up on us? I've seen you around the village, always greeting us as we walk by. Did you honestly think we'd fall for that? What do you want?"_

_Danzo had to admit the boy had quite the frightening persona right now. The boy was almost snarling at him._

_As he had yet to give a response, Gohan reminded the Elder of his position by pressing the blade he held more firmly against the flesh of his current captive. "Answer me!"_

"_You can put the kunai down, child. I'm not here to harm you or your friend, you can relax."_

"_Words are cheap. I want proof."_

_Once again impressed, Danzo reached into his sleave and retrieved his identification papers._

"_These will show you everything you need to believe me." The Elder held out the papers to the blonde, who cautiously took them._

"_Naruto, what do they say?"_

"_It's some kind of report from a meeting. Signed by a Danzo Shimura... Guess that's the old guy there..." Naruto kept flicking through before coming across an old ID card._

"_Well the pictures from a while back, still had both eyes back then huh?" Naruto said, throwing a small sly grin at the Elder._

'Oh, if only you knew, boy' _Danzo thought._

"_Hey, Gohan! Get this, apparently this guy's a member of the Elder council! Guess that means he's someone important huh?" The blonde exclaimed._

"_Someone who must have better things to be doing than spying on a pair of academy students." Gohan noted._

_The Elder was impressed by the teamwork the two were showing and by the diligence displayed by the boy who was restraining him._

_It was only then that the weapon was removed from Danzo's thraot. The elder turned and appraised the hybrid. The boy was of above average height, just starting to reach the five foot mark. He also had a highly developed musculature, something not most boys the same age as this one had._

"_You have good insincts boy." The warhawk praised. "Tell me, what is your name?" They hadn't actually met in person after all. He needed to gain this boy's trust. Revealing that he knew the boy's name without being told by him would not be of use right now._

"_Gohan." Simple answer for a simple question._

"_An unusual name." Danzo commented. "Still, you carry it well."_

"_My thanks." The half-saiyan responded. "I also apologise for my earlier behaviour."_

"_Think nothing of it. In actuality I am impressed by your quick thinking. How long did you know I was watching?"_

"_Ever since you turned up."_

_Giving a small smile, the elder then turned to Naruto who also looked apologetic, if the sheepish grin was anything to go by._

"_You two seem well on your way to becoming fine shinobi." Danzo commented. He then started heading away from the pair, back to the village. _

"_Perhaps the future of the Leaf isn't quite lost just yet after all."_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"We saw him around a few times after that but didn't really speak to him again." Gohan explained.

Kakashi had to prevent himself from letting more than a few curse words slip. '_That would get the attention of someone like Danzo...' _Kakashi mused.

Giving a long sigh, Kakashi began explaining. "That man, Danzo, is the leader of a hard-line political faction within Konoha. This group calls itself Root. They advocate a more aggressive stance for the village when dealing with the other nations."

"Well, that's not wholly a bad thing though." Gohan commented. "There needs to be some form of opposition in any political system where the leader is elected to keep a check on the leader's actions and propose alternatives. Even though it's a militaristic leadership, the Hokage is still elected by the court of the Land of Fire's Feudal Lord so it's logical there will need to be more than one candidate for each selection."

Kakashi was somewhat unnerved by the fact that Gohan didn't seem to mind Root's existance at all. Perhaps the Hokage was right and Danzo _had_ seen something after all.

"Besides," Gohan continued. "Sometimes they may even be right. Take the Hyuuga Incident with the Cloud for example. They were clearly in the wrong, proposing an alliance while also hatching a plan to abduct the Hyuuga heiress. Instead of calling them out on this though, Konoha capitulated and sent the head of the clan leader's twin. Though it did dupe the Cloud, there was still no need of it, their threats of war were hollow as when the village received intelligence several weeks later from spies inside Kumo, it was revealed that they didn't have the resources for a sustained conflict."

Not willing to enter into a debate over the finer points of foreign policy with a genin student, Kakashi decided to ignore the observation.

"Danzo also has a military division of Root." Kakashi explained, drawing Gohan's attention again. "He calls it the Foundation. Officially, its a division of the ANBU Black-ops which specialises in high risk missions and assassinations. Unofficially though, its an autonomous military faction directly under the control of Danzo, comprised of members who are completely loyal to the man and his cause. Doesn't sound like peaceful political opposition now, does it?"

Gohan remained silent.

"Now, not everyone is in the loop about this information, Gohan. In fact, The Third has labelled it an S-class secret."

"Then why tell me this?" Gohan asked.

"Danzo has shown an... interest in you. He wants to recruit you for the Foundation.". Kakashi explained.

"But... why?" Gohan was a little bewildered by all this.

"You seem to have impressed him with your little stunt that day at the training field. So much so that, just yesterday, he went to the Hokage himself and demanded you be transferred to the Foundation's ranks."

"That was certainly a bold move." Gohan noted, begrudgingly impressed by the sheer audacity that Danzo had displayed.

"That's one way of putting it." Kakashi couldn't help noticing the kernel of respect that seemed to be growing in Gohan's eyes. "I received a letter from the Hokage earlier today, telling me about this. It also contained a... mission."

"Oh, what did he ask you do do then, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Not me, you." Noticing the confused look in Gohan's eyes, Kakashi elaborated. "Danzo ususally gains recruits for the Foundation in secret. This is the first time we know the identity of someone Danzo wants to sway to his side."

"The Hokage wants me on the inside." Gohan deduced. "You said yourself that it's an autonomous faction, meaning you have no way to know what's going on in the Foundation. As Danzo wants me your hoping I'll be able to gather information critical to his cause and pass it on to you."

"It's completely your decision, Gohan." Kakashi stressed. "You don't have to accept. These aren't official orders."

"I'll... think about it."

"That's all we're asking, Gohan."

"I suppose we'd best head back now, the others will wonder where we are." Gohan said as he started heading back to the house. He then paused before turning to face Kakashi once again. "You know that this might be what Danzo wants right? He might have revealed the fact that he wants me because he knew you might try something like this."

Kakashi nodded before gravely replying. "I have thought the same myself, that's why we're giving you the choice, Gohan. You've only just become a genin. Normally you wouldn't have even been considered for something this risky. The parameters for a mission like this would place it firmly within the S-rank category."

"Like I said, I'll think about it."

"Good. And, Gohan? It would be best not to mention this to anyone for the moment. Especially not Naruto. Understand?"

Gohan nodded.

Eye-smile once again in place, Kakashi then followed his student back to Tazuna's.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Upon their return they found out that Naruto had engaged in a massive argument with Inari in their absence. Apparently, Inari had told the rest of the team about his father's death and that it was pointless to oppose Gato.

Naruto had railed at the boy and told him to get a grip (or something along those lines) before throwing Inari to the ground and proceeding to ignore the kid.

Suffice it to say, Kakashi was not best pleased.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Well there it is! Hope you all enjoyed.

As usual, please leave a review.

Tsukaria.


End file.
